AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target Lowered to $265.00 at Piper Sandler

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target trimmed by Piper Sandler from $270.00 to $265.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $219.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $220.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.