Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Receives $162.68 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $163.76.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MAA shares. Raymond James upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, October 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, August 26th. KeyCorp raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $173.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 82.4% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

MAA stock opened at $156.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, 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 current ratio of 0.09 and a quick ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.08. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 1 year low of $121.51 and a 1 year high of $167.39.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 23.84%. The firm had revenue of $551.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $548.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is presently 136.79%.

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.