AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($1.42), Yahoo Finance reports. The company had revenue of $712.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $706.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.57 earnings per share.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $191.02. 903,468 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 817,557. The company has a market cap of $27.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $182.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.68. AvalonBay Communities has a 52 week low of $160.45 and a 52 week high of $198.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 101.19%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at $4,054,985.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AvalonBay Communities news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total value of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total transaction of $323,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $175.00 to $191.50 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wolfe Research lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $191.00 price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price objective on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.78.

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.