AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.70

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 14th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 1.70 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st.

AvalonBay Communities has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.2% per year over the last three years. AvalonBay Communities has a payout ratio of 120.6% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect AvalonBay Communities to earn $11.59 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.7%.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $221.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.26, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98. AvalonBay Communities has a 12 month low of $169.37 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $227.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.31. 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 released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $231.33.

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the 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 $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.