Piper Sandler Boosts AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $255.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target increased by Piper Sandler from $230.00 to $255.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

AVB has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $210.29.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $203.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $160.45 and a 12-month high of $218.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $202.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.38.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). The firm had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,271,756,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,759,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $883,098,000 after acquiring an additional 109,585 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $367,534,000 after acquiring an additional 249,400 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $342,824,000 after acquiring an additional 8,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,513,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $283,325,000 after acquiring an additional 39,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.