AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Upgraded at Mizuho

Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $242.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $239.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $212.30 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $169.37 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.14. The company has a market capitalization of $30.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total value of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $39,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

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.