Sophron Capital Management L.P. Makes New $2.45 Million Investment in American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH)

Sophron Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 65,342 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,445,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in American Homes 4 Rent by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,948,804 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,681,984,000 after acquiring an additional 240,583 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in American Homes 4 Rent during the 4th quarter worth about $822,019,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Homes 4 Rent by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,987,142 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $598,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,351 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,805,224 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $516,591,000 after acquiring an additional 689,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,983,364 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $336,157,000 after acquiring an additional 757,772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.87% of the company's stock.

American Homes 4 Rent Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AMH traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.66. 1,314,367 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,184,139. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $13.94 billion, a PE ratio of 34.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average is $37.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.55. American Homes 4 Rent has a fifty-two week low of $31.68 and a fifty-two week high of $41.41.

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $459.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $449.00 million. American Homes 4 Rent had a net margin of 23.86% and a return on equity of 5.33%. The business's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Homes 4 Rent will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

American Homes 4 Rent Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. American Homes 4 Rent's dividend payout ratio is 111.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jack E. Corrigan purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.42 per share, with a total value of $93,680.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 12,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $281,040. The trade was a 50.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Sara H. Vogt-Lowell sold 42,500 shares of American Homes 4 Rent stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.01, for a total transaction of $1,657,925.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 99,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,870,338.14. This trade represents a 29.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $39.00 to $40.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $41.00 to $37.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Homes 4 Rent currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $40.89.

About American Homes 4 Rent

American Homes 4 Rent operates as a real estate investment trust. It engages in the acquisition, renovation, leasing, and operating of single-family homes as rental properties. The company was founded by Bradley Wayne Hughes, Sr. on October 19, 2012 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, NV.