Barclays Cuts AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $226.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $230.00 to $226.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

AVB has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.47.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $218.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $218.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $31.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $172.85 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.75 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 3.20%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ascent Group LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 13,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,995,000 after acquiring an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 75,999 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,718,000 after buying an additional 5,349 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $568,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $59,023,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 12,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 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.