AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $236.30 and last traded at $236.04, with a volume of 337136 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $226.88.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $226.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at $26,051,508.08. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 56 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.