Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James increased their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 0.4 %

MAA stock opened at $150.06 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $161.09 and a 200-day moving average of $157.25. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a twelve month low of $123.73 and a twelve month high of $173.38. The company has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

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

Mid-America Apartment Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 135.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.93, for a total value of $396,264.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 319,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,949,563.09. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,140 shares of company stock worth $1,142,842. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 230 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 200.0% in the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company Profile

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.