Orin
MAANYSE·REIT - Residential

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. MAA

Market cap $13.6BP/E 34.3× trailingGross margin 47.3%Reports Wed 28 Oct, after the close
$117.23
−0.03 (−0.03%)live 11:25 ET
52-wk $116.66 – $144.41
Watch
Orin's take
0.60conviction · moderate
Refreshed 17 Aug · take v6. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

MAA's fundamentals continue to deteriorate—EPS has fallen from $5.48 in 2022 to $3.78 in 2025, net income declined from $637M to $447M, and total debt rose from $4.44B to $5.41B—yet the stock still trades at 39x earnings, a 40% premium to the peer median of 28x. Q2 2026 Core FFO of $2.08 missed the prior year's $2.15 and same-store NOI declined, though the $0.02 beat over internal guidance and improving lease trends suggest operations may be stabilizing.

With the stock at $133.49 near its 200-day MA of $132.14 and neutral technicals (RSI 48.7), much of the bad news appears priced in, but the premium valuation leaves limited upside until earnings inflect positively.

What could go wrong

  • Sun Belt supply pressure. Continued new apartment deliveries in MAA's core Southeast/Southwest markets could keep same-store NOI falling, as seen in Q2 2026.
  • Leverage trajectory. Total debt has risen 22% from $4.44B (2022) to $5.41B (2025) while equity declined from $6.03B to $5.68B, increasing balance sheet risk if rates stay elevated.
  • Valuation compression. At 39x earnings versus a peer median of 28x, any further EPS decline could trigger a de-rating toward peers.
  • Institutional outflows. Multiple 13F filings show investors reducing positions (Aurora cut 78%, Edgestream cut 51%), and smart money score remains low at 0.04.

What would change my mind

Same-store NOI inflection. Q3 2026 same-store NOI turns positive year-over-yearbullish
FFO per share growth resumes. Quarterly Core FFO exceeds prior-year comparable ($2.15+)bullish
Continued same-store NOI decline. Q3 2026 same-store NOI falls further, confirming no stabilizationbearish
Debt-to-equity deterioration. Total debt-to-equity ratio exceeds 1.0x (currently ~0.95x at $5.41B debt vs $5.68B equity)bearish

Where this comes from: FMP annual fundamentals · FMP annual fundamentals · peer_relative composite · MarketBeat news, Zacks news. Orin's read on MAA; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$1.4B0.1% of fund
State Street$1.1B0.0% of fund
Vanguard Capital Management$1.1B0.0% of fund
Norges Bank$757.6M0.1% of fund
Viking Global Investors$700.7M2.0% of fund
Aqr Capital Management$523.8M0.2% of fund

76 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 127 Form 4 filings, net −$5.4M. Of the 50 on hand, 2 were open-market purchases and 9 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

Ask Orin about MAA

its filings · its transcripts · its numbers

Orin answers questions about MAA from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.

Start 3 free days →

Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Real Estate
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E34.3×34.2×56.8×
EV/EBITDA15.3×16.7×—
P/S6.15×8.24×—
P/B2.5×3.0×—

Its P/E sits 60th percentile of its own last 5 years (−0.14σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

7.0%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $0.7B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

37 firms · 2026-09-24
Consensus target

$137

$123 – $147 · +17% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 18 buy or overweight
  • 17 hold
  • 2 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 25.0× of 3 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
MAAMid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.$14B34.3×15.3×47.3%18.2%7%
ESSEssex Property Trust, Inc.$17B42.2×18.5×69.4%21.6%8%
INVHInvitation Homes Inc.$16B24.3×13.9×44.4%23.1%7%
KIMKimco Realty Corporation$15B25.0×14.7×54.8%27.7%6%

The median is of the 3 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 37.1% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 37.9×FY25 36.7×

What its sector has traded at

Real Estate
FY14 44.0×FY26 52.3×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$206$139.53 · +48%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$142$139.53 · +2%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $117.23
52-week range$117 – $144
Analyst targets$123 – $147
Standard DCF$206 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $139.53
Levered DCF$142 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $139.53
At own 5y-median P/E (34×)$117
At 5y P/E range (28–49×)$97 – $169
At sector P/E (57×)$194

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.