AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

AVB has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $203.00 price target (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $196.80.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.2%

AVB opened at $190.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $160.10 and a one year high of $204.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $187.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $179.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $1.63. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.The business had revenue of $712.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVB. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $390,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 60.6% in the second quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 6,940 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 41.1% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 110,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $20,822,000 after buying an additional 32,137 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter valued at $235,000. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth about $238,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.