American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) Competitors

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) and AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, media sentiment, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Which has more risk & volatility, AMH or AVB?

American Homes 4 Rent has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AvalonBay Communities has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor AMH or AVB?

In the previous week, American Homes 4 Rent had 3 more articles in the media than AvalonBay Communities. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for American Homes 4 Rent and 13 mentions for AvalonBay Communities. AvalonBay Communities' average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat American Homes 4 Rent's score of 0.70 indicating that AvalonBay Communities is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Homes 4 Rent	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AvalonBay Communities	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AMH or AVB more profitable?

AvalonBay Communities has a net margin of 38.86% compared to American Homes 4 Rent's net margin of 23.41%. AvalonBay Communities' return on equity of 9.65% beat American Homes 4 Rent's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Homes 4 Rent	23.41%	5.45%	3.21%
AvalonBay Communities	38.86%	9.65%	5.42%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in AMH or AVB?

91.9% of American Homes 4 Rent shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.6% of AvalonBay Communities shares are held by institutional investors. 6.3% of American Homes 4 Rent shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of AvalonBay Communities shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, AMH or AVB?

AvalonBay Communities has higher revenue and earnings than American Homes 4 Rent. AvalonBay Communities is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Homes 4 Rent, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Homes 4 Rent	$1.73B	7.68	$412.43M	$1.08	33.22
AvalonBay Communities	$2.91B	9.96	$1.08B	$8.03	25.39

Is AMH or AVB a better dividend stock?

American Homes 4 Rent pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. AvalonBay Communities pays an annual dividend of $7.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. American Homes 4 Rent pays out 111.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. AvalonBay Communities pays out 87.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. American Homes 4 Rent has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and AvalonBay Communities has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. AvalonBay Communities is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts recommend AMH or AVB?

American Homes 4 Rent presently has a consensus price target of $40.90, indicating a potential upside of 13.99%. AvalonBay Communities has a consensus price target of $235.86, indicating a potential upside of 15.67%. Given AvalonBay Communities' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AvalonBay Communities is more favorable than American Homes 4 Rent.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Homes 4 Rent	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.53
AvalonBay Communities	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.47

Summary

AvalonBay Communities beats American Homes 4 Rent on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.