AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.75

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 5th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of 1.75 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70.

AvalonBay Communities has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.3% per year over the last three years. AvalonBay Communities has a payout ratio of 112.6% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect AvalonBay Communities to earn $11.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.8%.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of AVB opened at $224.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $221.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.97. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $169.37 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The firm has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. Analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AVB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.60.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.