Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 8,501 Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 169.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,501 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $2,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter valued at $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought 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 third quarter valued at about $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 3,071.4% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth about $37,000. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $144.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target 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. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $169.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $187.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.68.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

NYSE MAA opened at $164.16 on Monday. 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 cap of $19.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.02. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.51 and a 52-week high of $167.39.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($1.20). The firm had revenue of $551.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $548.53 million. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.