Royal Bank of Canada Increases AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $196.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $191.00 to $196.00 in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 3.39% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on AVB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.50.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of AVB opened at $189.57 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities has a 12-month low of $160.45 and a 12-month high of $198.65. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $183.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.64 by ($1.42). The business had revenue of $712.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.12% and a net margin of 34.05%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value of $323,925.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVB. Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $230,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 43,271 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,431,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 118.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 318,026 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,618,000 after acquiring an additional 172,418 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 23,703 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $240,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.