AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Citigroup decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $190.00 to $183.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.47.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $184.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.66. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $160.10 and a 52-week high of $209.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80 by ($0.47). The company had revenue of $770.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $768.80 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 37.21%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 21.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 44,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,646,000 after buying an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 216,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $41,754,000 after acquiring an additional 6,511 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund PDN purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $3,648,000. Sun Life Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% during the third quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. now owns 161,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,117,000 after acquiring an additional 8,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 250.5% during the third quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 8,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 5,826 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.