B&I Capital AG Buys New Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

B&I Capital AG bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 68,530 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $11,194,000. AvalonBay Communities accounts for approximately 3.8% of B&I Capital AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter worth about $267,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 52.4% in the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,491 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $575,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 12.4% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,310.7% in the first quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 22,924 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,745,000 after acquiring an additional 21,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 32.4% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $195.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.10 and a 52 week high of $205.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $186.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.77.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.80 by ($0.47). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.The company had revenue of $770.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $768.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $203.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.80.

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.