AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Lowered to Equal Weight Rating by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $223.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous target price of $236.00.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.60.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.3 %

AVB 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $223.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.94. AvalonBay Communities has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.