The Goldman Sachs Group Downgrades Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) to Neutral

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $165.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price indicates a potential upside of 9.47% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Raymond James Financial lowered Mid-America Apartment Communities from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $161.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho lowered their price target on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $166.00 to $161.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.71.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE MAA traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $150.73. 940,004 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 804,472. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $153.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 52 week low of $138.89 and a 52 week high of $173.38. The stock has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.75.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 9.19% and a net margin of 25.70%. The company had revenue of $549.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $551.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amber Fairbanks sold 173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.85, for a total transaction of $28,865.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $502,552.20. This represents a 5.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 31.3% in the 2nd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,838 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 185,141 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,403,000 after acquiring an additional 4,765 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 155.8% in the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 15,441 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,285,000 after acquiring an additional 9,404 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,239,000 after acquiring an additional 185 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.