AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 382,013 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the previous session's volume of 714,016 shares.The stock last traded at $221.39 and had previously closed at $226.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVB. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Mizuho lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $214.47.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 1.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.97.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). The firm 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 previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11 EPS for the current 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,044,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at $13,780,506.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter worth $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter worth $39,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.8% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

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.