Bank OZK Has $1.75 Million Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Bank OZK boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Bank OZK’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $226.17 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $174.46 and a 1 year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities 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.