BMO Capital Markets Downgrades AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) to Market Perform

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $220.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.47% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $237.40.

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AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock traded up $10.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $197.36. 503,010 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 685,955. The stock's 50-day moving average is $214.92 and its 200 day moving average is $220.73. The stock has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.95, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,666.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.