AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $166.44 and last traded at $167.1250, with a volume of 525912 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $217.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.50 to $208.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.75.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $176.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.69.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released 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 analysts’ expectations of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 34.57%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $1.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 86.94%.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. BOKF NA purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

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.