AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank of Canada Analyst Says

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $226.00 to $229.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector perform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target points to a potential upside of 4.56% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on AVB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $219.01. 500,774 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 648,418. The company's 50 day moving average is $220.27 and its 200 day moving average is $222.38. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $169.37 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. This trade 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. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.