Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Given Market Outperform Rating at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $160.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

MAA has been the topic of several other research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. 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. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

MAA stock opened at $156.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $153.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 12-month low of $121.51 and a 12-month high of $167.39.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. 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 yield of 3.88%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 135.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,233,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 37.2% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 11,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 4,828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 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.