Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MAA. Mizuho dropped their price objective 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 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. 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 on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James upgraded 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 report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $157.00 to $155.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $166.00.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MAA stock traded down $1.31 on Thursday, reaching $156.82. 829,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,423. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.38. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 1-year low of $121.51 and a 1-year high of $167.39.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $1.19. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 128,640 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,884,000 after purchasing an additional 30,447 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,953 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 479 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 20,202 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,123,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 100,439 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $15,525,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.