Timothy J. Naughton Sells 23,697 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock

AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.3 %

AVB opened at $233.11 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $166.60 and a fifty-two week high of $236.26. The company has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.90.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. The company had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 93.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AVB. Scotiabank raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $222.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $227.06.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. BROOKFIELD Corp ON bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

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.