Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) versus EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) Financial Contrast

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP) and Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.1% of EastGroup Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.6% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of EastGroup Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares EastGroup Properties and Mid-America Apartment Communities’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EastGroup Properties	$608.99 million	14.37	$200.49 million	$4.61	39.43
Mid-America Apartment Communities	$2.17 billion	8.22	$552.81 million	$4.77	32.09

Mid-America Apartment Communities has higher revenue and earnings than EastGroup Properties. Mid-America Apartment Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than EastGroup Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for EastGroup Properties and Mid-America Apartment Communities, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EastGroup Properties	0	7	6	0	2.46
Mid-America Apartment Communities	2	9	6	0	2.24

EastGroup Properties currently has a consensus price target of $186.85, suggesting a potential upside of 2.80%. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a consensus price target of $145.56, suggesting a potential downside of 4.91%. Given EastGroup Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe EastGroup Properties is more favorable than Mid-America Apartment Communities.

Volatility & Risk

EastGroup Properties has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mid-America Apartment Communities has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

EastGroup Properties pays an annual dividend of $5.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Mid-America Apartment Communities pays an annual dividend of $5.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. EastGroup Properties pays out 110.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mid-America Apartment Communities pays out 123.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mid-America Apartment Communities has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Mid-America Apartment Communities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares EastGroup Properties and Mid-America Apartment Communities’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EastGroup Properties	37.16%	8.69%	4.98%
Mid-America Apartment Communities	23.73%	8.25%	4.50%

Summary

EastGroup Properties beats Mid-America Apartment Communities on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EastGroup Properties

EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 20,000 to 100,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. The Company's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 59 million square feet.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

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. As of December 31, 2023, MAA had ownership interest in 102,662 apartment units, including communities currently in development, across 16 states and the District of Columbia.