AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Short Interest Update

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,160,000 shares, an increase of 10.5% from the December 15th total of 2,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 616,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.1 days.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE AVB traded up $0.31 on Monday, reaching $218.21. The company had a trading volume of 553,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 517,710. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $169.37 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $224.47 and its 200-day moving average is $220.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $31.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.99.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 93.02%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.1% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,599,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,638 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 10.3% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 36.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 11,548 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 7.5% during the second quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 13,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,878,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AVB. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank lowered their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.53.

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.