Brokerages Set Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Target Price at $167.00

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $167.00.

Several research analysts have commented on MAA shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Institutional Trading of Mid-America Apartment Communities

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,228,569,000 after buying an additional 65,696 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,636,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,025,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,088,143 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 4th quarter valued at about $826,562,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,344,862 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $517,015,000 after purchasing an additional 708,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,193,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $492,421,000 after purchasing an additional 52,050 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MAA opened at $168.29 on Monday. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 52-week low of $123.73 and a 52-week high of $169.05. The company has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $154.16 and a 200-day moving average of $156.53.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were given a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. This is a positive change from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 135.27%.

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.