AvalonBay Communities, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.70 (NYSE:AVB)

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, September 23rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of 1.70 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th.

AvalonBay Communities has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.2% per year over the last three years. AvalonBay Communities has a payout ratio of 121.0% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect AvalonBay Communities to earn $11.55 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.9%.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB traded up $3.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $233.17. The stock had a trading volume of 677,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,901. The stock has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.97. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $236.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.30.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.93). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 7.16% and a net margin of 29.61%. The business had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.49 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AVB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $210.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

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