AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $1.42 EPS

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

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded down $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $191.02. 903,468 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 817,557. AvalonBay Communities has a 1 year low of $160.45 and a 1 year high of $198.65. The company has a market capitalization of $27.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $182.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 transaction of $323,925.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,054,985.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin P. O’shea sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.65, for a total transaction of $928,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,812,330.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on AVB shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $201.00 to $197.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $188.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $199.78.

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.