Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Price Target Raised to $161.00

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) had its price objective increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $158.00 to $161.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Friday, January 24th. They set an “inline” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $173.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.80.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $158.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.08. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 52-week low of $121.51 and a 52-week high of $167.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $153.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. This is an increase from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 135.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MAA. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 516.4% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,074,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $170,694,000 after acquiring an additional 899,960 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $95,671,000. Aew Capital Management L P increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 516.3% in the 4th quarter. Aew Capital Management L P now owns 630,994 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,533,000 after purchasing an additional 528,608 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 830.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 125,785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,987,000 after purchasing an additional 112,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 441,860 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,298,000 after purchasing an additional 83,926 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.