Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) and Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.
Dividends
Mid-America Apartment Communities pays an annual dividend of $4.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Camden Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Mid-America Apartment Communities pays out 62.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Camden Property Trust pays out 65.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Mid-America Apartment Communities has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Camden Property Trust has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Camden Property Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Profitability
This table compares Mid-America Apartment Communities and Camden Property Trust's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Mid-America Apartment Communities | 19.22% | 5.63% | 3.13% |
| Camden Property Trust | 18.14% | 5.22% | 2.70% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Mid-America Apartment Communities and Camden Property Trust's gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Mid-America Apartment Communities | $1.64 billion | 9.20 | $353.81 million | $6.55 | 20.15 |
| Camden Property Trust | $1.03 billion | 9.53 | $219.62 million | $5.04 | 19.96 |
Mid-America Apartment Communities has higher revenue and earnings than Camden Property Trust. Camden Property Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mid-America Apartment Communities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Mid-America Apartment Communities and Camden Property Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Mid-America Apartment Communities | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Camden Property Trust | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 2.64 |
Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has a consensus price target of $127.2222, indicating a potential downside of 3.63%. Camden Property Trust has a consensus price target of $100.5455, indicating a potential downside of 0.03%. Given Camden Property Trust's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Camden Property Trust is more favorable than Mid-America Apartment Communities.
Risk & Volatility
Mid-America Apartment Communities has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Camden Property Trust has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
91.4% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.6% of Camden Property Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Camden Property Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Camden Property Trust beats Mid-America Apartment Communities on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
