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

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. BNP Paribas began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.06.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of AVB stock traded up $3.35 on Wednesday, hitting $228.28. 152,449 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 727,608. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. AvalonBay Communities has a twelve month low of $164.76 and a twelve month high of $236.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $225.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.01 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued 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 2.98%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 422,021 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $95,060,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 65,704 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,800,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 10.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,880,000 after acquiring an additional 1,679 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in 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.