American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.4375.

AMH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on American Homes 4 Rent from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on American Homes 4 Rent from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Homes 4 Rent in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas N. Benham purchased 1,000 shares of American Homes 4 Rent stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $31.65 per share, with a total value of $31,650.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 7,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $252,915.15. This represents a 14.30% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jack E. Corrigan acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.96 per share, with a total value of $114,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 17,300 shares in the company, valued at $397,208. This trade represents a 40.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 6.01% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Homes 4 Rent

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in American Homes 4 Rent by 0.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,715,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,486,798,000 after purchasing an additional 246,713 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of American Homes 4 Rent in the 2nd quarter worth $796,706,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,424,196 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $612,605,000 after buying an additional 399,894 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,810,964 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $507,532,000 after buying an additional 1,260,717 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 0.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,964,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $250,566,000 after acquiring an additional 31,179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.87% of the company’s stock.

American Homes 4 Rent Price Performance

Shares of AMH opened at $30.80 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.96. The firm has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. American Homes 4 Rent has a 1-year low of $28.84 and a 1-year high of $39.49.

American Homes 4 Rent Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. American Homes 4 Rent’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

About American Homes 4 Rent

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the acquisition, development and management of single-family rental homes. Since its initial public offering in April 2013, the company has focused on building a large-scale, professionally managed portfolio of homes designed to meet the needs of today’s renters. Its business model emphasizes the acquisition of well-located properties coupled with consistent, in-house property management to drive occupancy and long-term value.

As of the most recent reporting, American Homes 4 Rent owns and operates tens of thousands of homes across the United States, with concentration in key Sun Belt and high-growth markets.