Evercore ISI Raises AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Price Target to $229.00

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Evercore ISI from $225.00 to $229.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “in-line” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective indicates a potential downside of 2.04% from the stock’s current price.

AVB has been the subject of a number of other reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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, Mizuho raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $222.24.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB traded down $0.99 on Monday, reaching $233.76. The company had a trading volume of 135,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,109. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.97. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $214.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.56.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). The firm had revenue of $726.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.8% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.