AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,860,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the November 30th total of 2,700,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 655,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,051,508.08. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% during 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 during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $219.97 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities has a 1-year low of $169.37 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The company has a market cap of $31.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.72.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $206.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $231.33.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.