AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $234.53.

AVB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays assumed coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $214.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $169.37 and a 1-year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.02%.

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.