Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.44.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $129.50 to $138.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Wedbush raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $154.00 in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, March 26th.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAA opened at $140.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.12 and a quick ratio of 0.12. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 1-year low of $115.56 and a 1-year high of $156.40. The company has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.59.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.23 by ($1.01). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 25.92% and a return on equity of 8.90%. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 323.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 40,385 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,430,000 after acquiring an additional 30,855 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the first quarter worth about $15,413,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 155,151 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,020,000 after purchasing an additional 13,045 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 9.9% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 197,478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,984,000 after purchasing an additional 17,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 163.1% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 21,734 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,923,000 after purchasing an additional 13,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

MAA, an S&P 500 company, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on delivering full-cycle and superior investment performance for shareholders through the ownership, management, acquisition, development and redevelopment of quality apartment communities primarily in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.