Bank OZK Grows Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Bank OZK lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,234 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,542.9% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4,428.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AVB shares. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $206.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Nine investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.78.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $191.45. 945,647 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 712,005. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $182.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.92. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.45 and a 12 month high of $198.65.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.73 by ($1.03). The firm had revenue of $704.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $701.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.05% and a return on equity of 8.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $1.70 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.65. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 101.19%.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In related news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,812,330.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AvalonBay Communities news, EVP Joanne M. Lockridge sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.10, for a total value 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 $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.