AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Downgraded by Morgan Stanley to “Equal Weight”

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) was downgraded by Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $223.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $236.00. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.34% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.47.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $213.72 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.66 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Strategic Blueprint LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $382,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 338,796 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $74,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares during the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 63,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,960,000 after purchasing an additional 5,350 shares in the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.