Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA) Competitors

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) and Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, community ranking, media sentiment and valuation.

Does the media prefer AVB or MAA?

In the previous week, Mid-America Apartment Communities had 6 more articles in the media than AvalonBay Communities. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for Mid-America Apartment Communities and 12 mentions for AvalonBay Communities. Mid-America Apartment Communities' average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat AvalonBay Communities' score of 0.79 indicating that AvalonBay Communities is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
AvalonBay Communities	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Mid-America Apartment Communities	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, AVB or MAA?

AvalonBay Communities has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mid-America Apartment Communities has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in AVB or MAA?

AvalonBay Communities received 164 more outperform votes than Mid-America Apartment Communities when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.23% of users gave AvalonBay Communities an outperform vote while only 60.73% of users gave Mid-America Apartment Communities an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
AvalonBay Communities	Outperform Votes 665 61.23%	Underperform Votes 421 38.77%
Mid-America Apartment Communities	Outperform Votes 501 60.73%	Underperform Votes 324 39.27%

Is AVB or MAA more profitable?

AvalonBay Communities has a net margin of 34.05% compared to AvalonBay Communities' net margin of 25.92%. AvalonBay Communities' return on equity of 8.90% beat Mid-America Apartment Communities' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AvalonBay Communities	34.05%	8.12%	4.61%
Mid-America Apartment Communities	25.92%	8.90%	4.90%

Do analysts rate AVB or MAA?

AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus price target of $203.39, indicating a potential upside of 5.79%. Mid-America Apartment Communities has a consensus price target of $144.18, indicating a potential upside of 10.64%. Given AvalonBay Communities' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Mid-America Apartment Communities is more favorable than AvalonBay Communities.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AvalonBay Communities	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.41
Mid-America Apartment Communities	2 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.13

Which has higher earnings & valuation, AVB or MAA?

AvalonBay Communities has higher revenue and earnings than Mid-America Apartment Communities. Mid-America Apartment Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AvalonBay Communities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AvalonBay Communities	$2.77B	9.88	$928.83M	$6.72	28.61
Mid-America Apartment Communities	$2.16B	7.04	$552.81M	$4.77	27.32

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in AVB or MAA?

92.6% of AvalonBay Communities shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.6% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of AvalonBay Communities shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is AVB or MAA a better dividend stock?

AvalonBay Communities pays an annual dividend of $6.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Mid-America Apartment Communities pays an annual dividend of $5.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. AvalonBay Communities pays out 101.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mid-America Apartment Communities pays out 123.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AvalonBay Communities has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Mid-America Apartment Communities has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Mid-America Apartment Communities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

AvalonBay Communities beats Mid-America Apartment Communities on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.