AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,820,000 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the August 15th total of 1,510,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 687,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total transaction of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $908,026.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $908,026.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,271,756,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 835,133 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $156,354,000 after purchasing an additional 346,214 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 487.8% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 359,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $74,372,000 after purchasing an additional 298,322 shares during the last quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 307.4% during the 4th quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 351,104 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $65,734,000 after buying an additional 264,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during 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 buying an additional 249,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock traded up $0.52 on Tuesday, hitting $233.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 521,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,097. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $236.26. The company has a market capitalization of $33.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $214.83 and its 200-day moving average is $199.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced 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 return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. The business had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $718.49 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on AVB. Evercore ISI raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.12.

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.