American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) Share Price Crosses Below 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• American Homes 4 Rent shares fell below their 200-day moving average, trading as low as $31.12 versus the $31.60 average, which may signal weakening technical momentum.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $36.12, despite some firms recently lowering their targets.
• The REIT reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and pays a $0.33 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 4.2% yield; however, its dividend payout ratio is high at 104.76%.

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $31.60 and traded as low as $31.12. American Homes 4 Rent shares last traded at $31.1840, with a volume of 2,082,740 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMH shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on American Homes 4 Rent from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of American Homes 4 Rent to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Homes 4 Rent has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.12.

American Homes 4 Rent Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.60.

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $470.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $466.51 million. American Homes 4 Rent had a net margin of 25.53% and a return on equity of 6.25%. The company's revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Homes 4 Rent will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Homes 4 Rent Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. American Homes 4 Rent's dividend payout ratio is currently 104.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jack Corrigan purchased 8,000 shares of American Homes 4 Rent stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.49 per share, for a total transaction of $171,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at $537,250. This trade represents a 47.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders acquired a total of 15,000 shares of company stock worth $328,040 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of American Homes 4 Rent

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMH. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Homes 4 Rent by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,937,398 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $528,736,000 after buying an additional 3,126,434 shares in the last quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 18.9% in the first quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 3,633,873 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $101,458,000 after buying an additional 577,750 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 83.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,544,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $98,973,000 after buying an additional 1,608,934 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 20.1% in the first quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 2,959,426 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $82,627,000 after acquiring an additional 496,037 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 69.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,609,254 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $44,930,000 after acquiring an additional 656,937 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.87% of the company's stock.

About American Homes 4 Rent

American Homes 4 Rent NYSE: AMH is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops single-family rental homes in the United States. The company provides professionally managed rental housing to individuals and families, with properties generally located in suburban communities and designed for long-term occupancy.

The company's activities include acquiring, constructing, renovating, leasing and maintaining single-family homes. Its portfolio includes detached houses with features such as private yards, garages and modern appliances.

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