Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,998 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the quarter. Mid-America Apartment Communities comprises about 1.0% of Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Mid-America Apartment Communities were worth $6,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAA. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mid-America Apartment Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MAA shares. Raymond James upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “market perform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $175.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp upgraded Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Mid-America Apartment Communities from $169.00 to $165.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut Mid-America Apartment Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Mid-America Apartment Communities in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.29.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Price Performance

NYSE:MAA opened at $147.15 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $155.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.38. The firm has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.91. Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $121.51 and a 52-week high of $167.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($1.20). Mid-America Apartment Communities had a net margin of 23.84% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $551.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $548.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. will post 8.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mid-America Apartment Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 15th will be given a dividend of $1.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 15th. This is a positive change from Mid-America Apartment Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. Mid-America Apartment Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.79%.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

MAA, an S&P 500 company, is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on delivering full-cycle and superior investment performance for shareholders through the ownership, management, acquisition, development and redevelopment of quality apartment communities primarily in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.