AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eleven 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $226.88.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a market cap of $33.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

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

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AVB. State Street Corp raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,097,971,000 after buying an additional 196,938 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $805,113,000 after purchasing an additional 27,988 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,240,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $504,658,000 after purchasing an additional 78,800 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 13,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $386,315,000 after buying an additional 1,494,872 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

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.