KeyBanc announced on Thursday that it has boosted its rating on AvalonBay Communities Inc (AVB
) to “Buy.”
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The firm has upgraded AVB from “Hold” to “Buy,” and has given the company a $139 price target. This price target suggests a 15% upside from the stock’s current price of $120.55. KeyBanc has also upgraded residential REIT UDR, Inc. (UDR) and has cut its rating on Essex Property Trust Inc (ESS).
Analyst Karin Ford noted: “We upgrade the Apartment REIT vertical from Market-Weight to OVERWEIGHT based upon attractive valuation levels that overlook the potential for accelerating fundamentals, as the impact of new supply wanes and continued employment gains support greater rental demand into ’15.
“We believe the short-cycle nature of the apartment vertical’s leases place it relatively well within an env’t of rising rates driven by an imprv'g economy; the group’s underperformance YTD and current relative valuation level (4% discount to REIT sector on AFFO multiple) reflects concern over slowing fundamentals amid elevated new supply. We think new supply should peak in late-’14 and give way to accelerating absorption trends.”
AvalonBay Communities shares were mostly flat during pre-market trading Thursday. The stock is down 11% YTD.
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