Brokerages Set Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Target Price at $161.64

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $161.64.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MAA. StockNews.com downgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on 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. Bank of America upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $144.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $169.00 price target for the company. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $158.52 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $157.23 and a 200-day moving average of $148.46. 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 market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.88. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 1-year low of $120.32 and a 1-year high of $167.39.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($1.20). The business had revenue of $551.13 million for 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 firm’s revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 132.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,731,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,228,569,000 after buying an additional 65,696 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 17.5% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,633,160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $375,515,000 after buying an additional 393,067 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 6.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,716,628 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,803,000 after buying an additional 97,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.8% in the second 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 buying an additional 44,621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

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.