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

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

MAA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $139.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $154.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $169.00 to $165.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $144.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.69.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

NYSE:MAA opened at $155.03 on Tuesday. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 52-week low of $118.68 and a 52-week high of $167.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a current ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.64.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $551.13 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $548.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 132.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 19.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,886 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,815,000 after purchasing an additional 7,020 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 8.6% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 237.9% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,208 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 5,779 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 56.6% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 99,686 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $15,840,000 after purchasing an additional 36,048 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.