Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Rating Increased to Sector Outperform at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Free Report) from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $182.00 target price on the real estate investment trust's stock, up from their prior target price of $173.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MAA. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $166.45.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MAA traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $157.48. 524,600 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 732,039. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $18.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.04. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 1-year low of $123.23 and a 1-year high of $167.39.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 24.03% and a return on equity of 8.53%. Equities analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $1.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This is an increase from Mid-America Apartment Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Mid-America Apartment Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MAA. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 worth $1,228,569,000 after acquiring an additional 65,696 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,088,143 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter valued at about $826,562,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,344,862 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $517,015,000 after purchasing an additional 708,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.7% during 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 period. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.