Short Interest in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Rises By 10.5%

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, an increase of 10.5% from the December 31st total of 2,860,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 616,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.1 days.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 275 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 traded down $1.06 on Monday, hitting $220.46. The stock had a trading volume of 778,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 605,875. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.79. The stock has a market cap of $31.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.60.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.