AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Given New $251.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $241.00 to $251.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Scotiabank’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.39% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on AVB. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $223.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $227.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.57.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of AVB stock traded up $2.96 on Monday, reaching $208.49. 37,753 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 696,556. AvalonBay Communities has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $206.99 and a 200-day moving average of $217.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.80 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $693.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $744.61 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $1,499,050,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,152,183 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,133,328,000 after buying an additional 1,336,698 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,642,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $581,324,000 after acquiring an additional 935,770 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,488,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $547,500,000 after acquiring an additional 828,009 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $688,527,000 after acquiring an additional 639,402 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.