Mizuho Cuts Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Price Target to $159.00

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) had its target price trimmed by Mizuho from $163.00 to $159.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $139.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $169.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.92.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

MAA opened at $149.29 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $156.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.74. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($1.20). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 23.84%. The company had revenue of $551.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $548.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is presently 136.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.9% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 40,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,762,000 after buying an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 32,405 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,575,000 after purchasing an additional 6,332 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 8.9% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 9,261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the second quarter valued at about $300,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $241,000. 93.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.