Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Stock Price

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $243.00 to $230.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.24% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on AVB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.60.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $214.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $30.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $223.01 and its 200-day moving average is $221.02. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $169.37 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,051,508.08. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 368.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 17.3% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 19,734 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,908 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 15.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,619 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 60.4% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 27,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,627,000 after acquiring an additional 10,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 890.8% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 47,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,211,000 after purchasing an additional 42,900 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.