Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Short Interest Update

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,760,000 shares, a growth of 29.7% from the January 31st total of 2,900,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 705,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MAA shares. Scotiabank raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on 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. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $159.50 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE MAA traded down $2.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $167.50. 80,047 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 659,327. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 37.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.91. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a fifty-two week low of $123.73 and a fifty-two week high of $173.38. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.02.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were paid a $1.515 dividend. 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 3.62%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s payout ratio is 135.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,890,000. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 203,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,178 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,273 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,670,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.4% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 180,689 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,711,000 after buying an additional 4,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $4,304,000. 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.