Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold" Rating

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

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MAA. Scotiabank raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $173.00 to $182.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $190.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.76.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Up 0.8 %

MAA traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $160.69. 676,605 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 735,183. The company has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.87, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.08. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a fifty-two week low of $126.77 and a fifty-two week high of $173.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $161.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.29.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.93, for a total transaction of $396,264.99. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 319,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,949,563.09. This represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 7,140 shares of company stock valued at $1,142,842 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Mid-America Apartment Communities

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 1.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 192,228 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,214,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,863,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 120.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 854 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 1st quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 4,401 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is 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.