AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $250.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $219.94.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $234.75 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $214.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $199.40. The stock has a market cap of $33.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $160.45 and a 12-month high of $234.80.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. The company had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.49 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 65,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at $13,780,506.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $908,026.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $1,271,756,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,759,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $883,098,000 after acquiring an additional 109,585 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $429,145,000 after purchasing an additional 13,631 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $367,534,000 after purchasing an additional 249,400 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $342,824,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.