Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Hits New 12-Month Low - Time to Sell?

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $155.21 and last traded at $159.33, with a volume of 957837 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MAA shares. 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. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $158.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.45.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's fifty day moving average is $161.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.04. Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 24.03%. The firm had revenue of $549.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $551.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 15th were given a dividend of $1.515 per share. This represents a $6.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 15th. Mid-America Apartment Communities's payout ratio is 126.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO H Eric Bolton, Jr. sold 2,643 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.93, for a total value of $396,264.99. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 319,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,949,563.09. The trade was a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amber Fairbanks sold 173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.85, for a total value of $28,865.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,313 shares of company stock worth $1,171,707 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the fourth quarter valued at about $826,562,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,636,915 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,025,868,000 after buying an additional 2,088,143 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 312.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,226,026 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $189,507,000 after acquiring an additional 928,851 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,344,862 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $517,015,000 after purchasing an additional 708,125 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter worth $95,671,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.60% of the company's stock.

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.