Brokerages Set AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Target Price at $235.73

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $238.64.

A number of brokerages have commented on AVB. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $218.78 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities has a twelve month low of $172.85 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 89.59%.

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.