Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Upgraded at 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 Thursday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on MAA. Barclays lowered their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $173.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $159.50 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:MAA opened at $159.01 on Thursday. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 52 week low of $121.51 and a 52 week high of $167.39. The business’s 50 day moving average is $153.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 35.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.91.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 8.38%. On average, analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.89 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is a positive change from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter worth $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 251 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

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.