AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on AVB. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Colliers Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $215.00 to $193.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $202.00 to $197.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.50.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $178.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $180.04 and a 200-day moving average of $186.55. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $166.73 and a 1-year high of $230.21.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($0.06). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.78% and a return on equity of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $766.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,271 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,675,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,885 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.