Financial Contrast: Centerspace (NYSE:CSR) versus Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA)

Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE:MAA) and Centerspace (NYSE:CSR) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

93.6% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.0% of Centerspace shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Mid-America Apartment Communities shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Centerspace shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Mid-America Apartment Communities and Centerspace’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mid-America Apartment Communities	25.23%	9.10%	4.70%
Centerspace	-9.13%	-2.81%	-1.27%

Volatility and Risk

Mid-America Apartment Communities has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Centerspace has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Mid-America Apartment Communities pays an annual dividend of $6.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Centerspace pays an annual dividend of $3.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Mid-America Apartment Communities pays out 128.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Centerspace pays out 172.1% 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 has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years and Centerspace has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Mid-America Apartment Communities and Centerspace, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mid-America Apartment Communities	2	11	8	0	2.29
Centerspace	0	7	3	0	2.30

Mid-America Apartment Communities presently has a consensus target price of $156.22, suggesting a potential upside of 18.23%. Centerspace has a consensus target price of $69.67, suggesting a potential upside of 4.22%. Given Mid-America Apartment Communities’ higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Mid-America Apartment Communities is more favorable than Centerspace.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mid-America Apartment Communities and Centerspace”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mid-America Apartment Communities	$2.20 billion	7.02	$527.54 million	$4.72	27.99
Centerspace	$273.45 million	4.08	-$10.69 million	$1.79	37.34

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

Summary

Mid-America Apartment Communities beats Centerspace on 15 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

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. The Non-Same Store segment includes recent acquisitions, communities in development or lease-up. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Germantown, TN.

About Centerspace

Centerspace is an owner and operator of apartment communities committed to providing great homes by focusing on integrity and serving others. Founded in 1970, as of September 30, 2023, Centerspace owned interests in 71 apartment communities consisting of 12,785 apartment homes located in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Centerspace was named a Top Workplace for the fourth consecutive year in 2023 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.