Avalon Bay and Vitamin Shoppe Hit 52-Week Highs

Today, Avalon Bay Communities (NYSE: AVB) and Vitamin Shoppe (NYSE: VSI) reached new 52-week highs of $133.84 and $42.94 per share, respectively.

Avalon Bay announced yesterday the retirement of its chief executive. The company has a market cap of $11.6 billion and is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that buys, develops, renovates and operates upscale multifamily properties in the United States.

The company has a dividend yield of 2.7%. The P/E ratio of 85.5 is a bit below the real estate industry P/E ratio of 86.5 and well above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 18.6% year to date, outperforming the industry average as well as the broader markets.

Vitamin Shoppe has topped earnings expectations in nearly all quarters since its IPO. It has a market cap of $1.2 billion and sells vitamins, supplements and homeopathic and personal care products.

The company has a P/E ratio of 33.4, compared to the specialty retail industry P/E ratio of 20.5. It also has a 23.7% long-term earnings per share growth forecast and a PEG ratio of 1.1. Shares are up 25.4% year to date, outperforming competitor GNC Holdings (NYSE: GNC) and the broader markets.