AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Raised to $240.00 at Evercore ISI

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target hoisted by Evercore ISI from $230.00 to $240.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on AVB. Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.07.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB stock opened at $219.32 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $220.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.27. The company has a market capitalization of $31.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. 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. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.59%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 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.