AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Upgraded at Mizuho

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) was upgraded by Mizuho from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Monday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $242.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $239.00. Mizuho’s price target indicates a potential upside of 10.42% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BNP Paribas started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Barclays began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.53.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB stock opened at $219.17 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities has a 52-week low of $169.37 and a 52-week high of $239.29. 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 $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $226.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.07.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 111,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,014,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 63,174 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,070,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,983,000 after purchasing an additional 108,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 46.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 34,791 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,837,000 after buying an additional 11,064 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.