Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) Stock Gets Downgrade from Morgan Stanley

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) was downgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, FinViz reports. They currently have a $134.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $147.00. Morgan Stanley‘s price target points to a potential upside of 12.76% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research note on Friday, October 30th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $146.00 to $131.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.82.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock opened at $118.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a PE ratio of 36.01 and a beta of 0.71. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a twelve month low of $113.95 and a twelve month high of $144.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $119.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($1.38). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a return on equity of 6.89% and a net margin of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $560.13 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $558.07 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Mid-America Apartment Communities

In related news, EVP Adrian Hill acquired 844 shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $118.35 per share, for a total transaction of $99,887.40. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 65,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,725,532.95. This represents a 1.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 102.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares during the period. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 43.7% in the third quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 9,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after purchasing an additional 2,825 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $821,000. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 0.9% during the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,719,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 4.4% during the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 34,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,079,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates, acquires and develops apartment communities. Its properties offer rental housing and related resident services and amenities. The company focuses primarily on markets across the southeastern and southwestern United States, as well as select Mid-Atlantic locations. Its portfolio includes communities in urban and suburban areas. Headquartered in Germantown, Tennessee, MAA has been led by President and Chief Executive Officer H. Eric Bolton Jr. since 2001.