AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Short Interest Down 10.4% in March

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,470,000 shares, a decline of 10.4% from the March 15th total of 1,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 804,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,610,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 248,699 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $46,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,061 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 994,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $186,191,000 after purchasing an additional 21,760 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,625,000. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,890 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock traded down $1.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $178.98. 901,183 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 648,886. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $180.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.80. The company has a market cap of $25.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $160.45 and a 12-month high of $198.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). The business had revenue of $704.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.56% and a return on equity of 7.98%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 103.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on AVB shares. Wolfe Research lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $194.00 to $204.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $196.78.

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.