Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $190.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $148.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MAA. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho decreased 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 note on Monday, January 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.43.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

NYSE MAA opened at $167.40 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $157.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 1 year low of $123.73 and a 1 year high of $173.38.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. As a group, research analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MAA. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 31.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 3.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 143,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,867,000 after purchasing an additional 4,618 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 22,730.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,936 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 5,910 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 56.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 99,686 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,840,000 after purchasing an additional 36,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the operation, acquisition, and development of apartment communities. It operates through the Same Store and Non-Same Store segments. The Same Store Communities segment represents those apartment communities that have been owned and stabilized for at least 12 months as of the first day of the calendar year.