AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Given New $214.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price objective hoisted by Royal Bank of Canada from $207.00 to $214.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on AVB. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Argus boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $210.29.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $210.02 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $202.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.23. The company has a market capitalization of $29.86 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $160.45 and a 52-week high of $218.79.

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 (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.97 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 101.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 270.0% during the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.