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

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $160.75.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MAA. Wedbush upped their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $154.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $161.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $145.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 323.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 172.5% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 10,227 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 531.5% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 44,317 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,831,000 after buying an additional 37,299 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 12.8% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,516 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,352,000 after buying an additional 3,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

MAA stock opened at $153.32 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $158.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 12-month low of $115.56 and a 12-month high of $167.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.88.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.94%.

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.