AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Raised to $214.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $207.00 to $214.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Scotiabank raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $210.29.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $203.93 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $218.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.93). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. The firm had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.97 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.19%.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,271,756,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 835,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $156,354,000 after purchasing an additional 346,214 shares in the last quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 307.4% during the fourth quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 351,104 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,734,000 after purchasing an additional 264,923 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $367,534,000 after purchasing an additional 249,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4,563.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 212,803 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,488,000 after purchasing an additional 208,240 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AvalonBay Communities

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.