Analysts Set Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Price Target at $165.31

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $166.92.

MAA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $169.00 target price for the company. Raymond James raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $166.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $139.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

MAA opened at $148.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $156.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.78. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 52-week low of $121.51 and a 52-week high of $167.39.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($1.20). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $551.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $548.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.88 EPS for the current 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. This is an increase 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 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 136.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,731,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,228,569,000 after purchasing an additional 65,696 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,141,138 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $497,624,000 after buying an additional 48,168 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 17.5% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,633,160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $375,515,000 after buying an additional 393,067 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 6.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,716,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $244,803,000 after buying an additional 97,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.8% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,644,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $234,497,000 after acquiring an additional 44,621 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.