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

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $165.31.

A number of brokerages have commented on MAA. Raymond James upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $169.00 to $165.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays started 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $173.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE MAA opened at $155.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.57. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a one year low of $121.51 and a one year high of $167.39. The firm has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a PE ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $551.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $548.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side 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 business 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 $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 136.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 worth $1,228,569,000 after purchasing an additional 65,696 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $497,624,000 after buying an additional 48,168 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 17.5% in the 2nd 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 lifted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 6.0% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 97,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.8% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company Profile

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.