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Mid-America Apartment (MAA) Q4 FFO Tops Estimates, Revenues Lag

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Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (MAA - Free Report) , commonly referred to as MAA, reported fourth-quarter 2021 core funds from operations (FFO) per share of $1.90, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.87. The reported number increased 15.2% from the year-ago figure of $1.57.

The residential REIT’s quarterly results were driven by an increase in the average effective rent per unit for the same-store portfolio. The average physical occupancy for the same-store portfolio also increased year over year.

The rental and other property revenues came in at $463.6 million during the December-end quarter, lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $464 million. The reported figure is also 9.4% higher than the year-ago quarter’s $423.6 million.

Per management, "Results for the fourth quarter were ahead of expectations with strong rent growth and high occupancy. The demand for apartment housing across our markets continues to accelerate. We are carrying strong pricing momentum into 2022 and expect leasing conditions in the coming year will remain very favorable.”

For 2021, MAA reported a core FFO per share of $7.01, up 9% from $6.43 in the prior year. The same also outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.98. Plus, rental and other property revenues of $1.78 billion improved 6% year over year.

Quarter in Detail

The same-store portfolio’s revenues grew 9.3% on a year-over-year rise of 10.1% in the average effective rent per unit. The average physical occupancy for the same-store portfolio in the fourth quarter was 96%, up from the prior-year quarter’s 95.7%. In the fourth quarter, lease pricing in MAA’s same-store portfolio for both new and renewing leases compared with the prior lease grew 16% on a combined basis. The same-store net operating income (NOI) reflects year-over-year growth of 12.1%.

However, the same-store portfolio property operating expenses flared up 4.6%.

Balance Sheet Position

As of Dec 31, 2021, $1.1 billion of combined cash and capacity was available under its unsecured revolving credit facility, net of commercial paper borrowings. As of the same date, the total debt outstanding was $4.5 billion.

As of Dec 31, 2021, unencumbered NOI was 95.2% of the total NOI.

As of the same date, MAA held cash and cash equivalents of $54.3 million, up from the $25.2 million reported at the end of 2020.

Portfolio Activity

During the fourth quarter, MAA redeveloped 1368 units. As of Dec 31, 2021, the same had six development communities under construction, with a projected average stabilized NOI yield of 5.9%.

Outlook

MAA projects 2022 core FFO per share at $7.74-$8.10. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $7.94 lies within the guided range.

Management forecasts same-store property revenue growth of 8-10%, while same-store property operating expense growth is projected at 5-6%. Moreover, same-store NOI growth is anticipated to be10-12%.

MAA projects first-quarter 2022 core FFO per share at $1.83-$1.99.

MAA currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

We now look forward to the earnings releases of other REITs like Welltower Inc. (WELL - Free Report) , Highwoods Properties (HIW - Free Report) and Healthpeak Properties , all three scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on Feb 9.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.


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