AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at BNP Paribas

Analysts at BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. BNP Paribas’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 9.06% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AVB. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $185.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.94.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.7 %

AVB stock opened at $229.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.97. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $160.45 and a fifty-two week high of $230.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $212.41 and a 200-day moving average of $198.35.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.93). The firm had revenue of $726.04 million during 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $1,271,756,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,759,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $883,098,000 after acquiring an additional 109,585 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,074,269 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $429,145,000 after acquiring an additional 13,631 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 14.4% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,980,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $367,534,000 after purchasing an additional 249,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.5% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,847,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $342,824,000 after purchasing an additional 8,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.