Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,760,000 shares, an increase of 29.7% from the January 31st total of 2,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 705,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $152.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $155.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from $174.00 to $164.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $159.50 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mid-America Apartment Communities

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAA. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $480,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter worth $2,391,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the fourth quarter worth $14,217,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 14,666 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,267,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 76,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,810,000 after acquiring an additional 18,702 shares during the last quarter. 93.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

Shares of MAA traded down $2.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $168.38. 924,528 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 659,931. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.08 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $19.68 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.91. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a 52-week low of $123.73 and a 52-week high of $173.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $154.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.82.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 15th were issued a $1.515 dividend. This is an increase from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 135.27%.

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.