AvalonBay Communities’ (AVB) “Neutral” Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their neutral rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $190.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AVB. Truist Financial increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Scotiabank upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $196.87.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $184.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $187.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.42. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $198.63.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.12). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 33.33%.The company had revenue of $777.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $772.37 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.82 EPS. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 116.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter worth $3,368,659,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 18,031.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 11,785,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $213,677,000 after buying an additional 11,720,150 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $1,394,635,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth $366,672,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter worth $358,275,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.