Evercore ISI Raises AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $223.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Evercore ISI from $216.00 to $223.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an in-line rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on AVB. Piper Sandler upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $214.47.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.7 %

AVB stock traded up $1.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $223.01. 610,808 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 716,394. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $160.45 and a 52-week high of $224.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $208.17 and a 200-day moving average of $194.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). The business had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 10.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total transaction of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,026.11. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total transaction of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $908,026.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,271,756,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,759,095 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $883,098,000 after acquiring an additional 109,585 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $429,145,000 after acquiring an additional 13,631 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $367,534,000 after acquiring an additional 249,400 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $342,824,000 after acquiring an additional 8,809 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.