Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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 boosted their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $168.90.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $167.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.41, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.90. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 1-year low of $123.73 and a 1-year high of $173.38.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th will be issued a $1.515 dividend. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 135.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,731,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,228,569,000 after buying an additional 65,696 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,636,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,025,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088,143 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter valued at $826,562,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,344,862 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $517,015,000 after purchasing an additional 708,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,193,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $492,421,000 after purchasing an additional 52,050 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Company Profile

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.