AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Given New $241.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by analysts at Scotiabank from $244.00 to $241.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Scotiabank's target price points to a potential upside of 5.73% from the stock's previous close.

AVB has been the topic of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $226.88.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $5.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $227.93. The company had a trading volume of 640,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 726,742. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.05. The firm has a market cap of $32.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $166.60 and a one year high of $236.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.9% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 152,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,330,000 after buying an additional 33,230 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 150.4% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 33,550 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,557,000 after purchasing an additional 20,149 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 76.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 9,969 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 4,318 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $386,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 24,776 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,581,000 after purchasing an additional 5,042 shares during the period. 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.