Wedbush Reduces Earnings Estimates for AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Wedbush lowered their FY2025 earnings estimates for AvalonBay Communities in a research note issued on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush analyst R. Anderson now anticipates that the real estate investment trust will post earnings of $11.42 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $11.75. The consensus estimate for AvalonBay Communities' current full-year earnings is $11.53 per share.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%.

AVB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target 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. Eight research 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, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB traded down $2.13 on Thursday, reaching $217.97. The company had a trading volume of 741,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,565. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $222.73. The company has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $172.85 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $1,499,050,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% in the 3rd 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 worth $386,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,133,328,000 after buying an additional 1,336,698 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $581,324,000 after buying an additional 935,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $547,500,000 after buying an additional 828,009 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

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.