Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Receives “Market Outperform” Rating from JMP Securities

JMP Securities reaffirmed their market outperform rating on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $160.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on MAA. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $169.00 to $165.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays started coverage on Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $166.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $173.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.92.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

Shares of MAA stock opened at $148.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a fifty-two week low of $121.51 and a fifty-two week high of $167.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.94. The company has a market capitalization of $17.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.91.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $551.13 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $548.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.515 dividend. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MAA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter valued at $37,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 252.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.