Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 65,138 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 10.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 691,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 65,138 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $112,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.8% during the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,374,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $591,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 18,854 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,837,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $205.00 target price (up from $203.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.80.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $192.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $186.93 and its 200 day moving average is $179.15. The stock has a market cap of $27.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.10 and a 1-year high of $205.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.The firm had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $768.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 103.19%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.