Scotiabank Lowers AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $190.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $193.00 to $190.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target indicates a potential upside of 7.55% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Colliers Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.59.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE AVB traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, hitting $176.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 140,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,182,318. The company’s 50-day moving average is $178.53 and its 200 day moving average is $183.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.75. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $166.73 and a 1-year high of $225.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 44,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,646,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 216,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,754,000 after acquiring an additional 6,511 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 78.7% during the second quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 15,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,195,000 after acquiring an additional 6,916 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 17.7% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 449,348 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,768,000 after acquiring an additional 67,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sun Life Financial Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. now owns 161,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,117,000 after acquiring an additional 8,660 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.