Jefferies Comments On AvalonBay Communities Post-2011 Review

According to Jefferies, AvalonBay Communities AVB is expected to post 2011/2012 annual FFO/sh growth at the high-end of the Apartment REIT sector, spearheaded by a superior development pipeline, it believes AVB's shares are fairly valued at current levels. Jefferies said that its $129 PT is derived via our dividend discount model (DDM). “Key risks to the AVB story are: 1) slowdown in economic recovery in the U.S. leading to unemployment rates remaining at elevated levels; and 2) prolonged lease-up of development projects being dilutive to earnings.” AvalonBay Communities closed on Friday at $134.19.