AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Given New $233.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $234.00 to $233.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.06.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $233.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.97. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $164.76 and a one year high of $236.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $225.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for 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 8.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth about $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 purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.