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

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

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on AVB. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Twelve 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $210.29.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $203.93 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $218.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $202.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.38.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its 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). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. The company had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 101.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 270.0% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in 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.