AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Stock Position Raised by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 90,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $16,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $1,394,635,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,355,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $455,077,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,286 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,497,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $815,360,000 after purchasing an additional 383,983 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1,765.8% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 348,068 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $63,108,000 after buying an additional 329,413 shares during the period. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 126.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 555,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,370,000 after buying an additional 310,412 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $182.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $160.10 and a one year high of $209.86. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $175.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.79.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.47). The business had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $768.80 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.21% and a return on equity of 9.56%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.83 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $203.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $203.00 price objective (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $197.73.

AvalonBay Communities 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.