AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Rating Lowered to Hold at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) was downgraded by investment analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $172.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 3.11% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on AVB. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $216.00 to $217.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $215.00 to $193.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $214.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.50.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB traded down $4.91 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $177.52. 83,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,027,083. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.75. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $166.73 and a 1 year high of $230.21. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $766.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.22 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 38.78% and a return on equity of 9.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AvalonBay Communities

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at $315,000. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 682.4% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,021 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,630,000 after purchasing an additional 17,462 shares in the last quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,237,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.