Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $162.68.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $139.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $173.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Institutional Trading of Mid-America Apartment Communities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 82.4% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:MAA opened at $157.22 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $156.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.88. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a fifty-two week low of $121.51 and a fifty-two week high of $167.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($1.20). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 23.84%. The company had revenue of $551.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $548.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.73%.

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.