Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Overweight Rating

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $168.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock, up from their prior price target of $159.50.

A number of other analysts have also commented on MAA. Scotiabank decreased their target price on 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 Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Friday. They issued an “inline” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $166.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MAA stock opened at $148.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.91. 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 simple moving average of $155.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.39. 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 (NYSE:MAA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($1.20). The company 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be paid a $1.515 dividend. This is an increase from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 136.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company Profile

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.