AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Lowered to $265.00 at Piper Sandler

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $265.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB traded down $1.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $218.25. The company had a trading volume of 290,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 619,411. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.42. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $172.85 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. Equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is currently 89.59%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AVB. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,004 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 46.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 34,791 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,837,000 after acquiring an additional 11,064 shares during the last quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth about $508,000. Finally, Presima Securities ULC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% in the third quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 12,201 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,748,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.