Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Stock Price

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at Citigroup from $212.00 to $198.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Citigroup’s target price points to a potential upside of 11.90% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on AVB. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $205.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore restated an “in-line” rating and set a $214.00 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $222.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.91.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AVB traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $176.94. The company had a trading volume of 262,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,248,798. The stock has a market cap of $25.05 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.76. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $166.73 and a 1-year high of $230.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $184.17.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $767.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 34.57%.During the same period last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. Research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 35,969 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,522,000 after acquiring an additional 5,276 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 280,536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,864,000 after buying an additional 57,462 shares during the last quarter. OpenArc Corporate Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,322,684 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $602,438,000 after buying an additional 54,275 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.