American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,410,000 shares, a growth of 9.1% from the October 31st total of 7,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,140,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Homes 4 Rent

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,457 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 4,649 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Homes 4 Rent during the third quarter worth about $762,000. TCW Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent in the 3rd quarter worth about $962,000. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 41,410 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after purchasing an additional 9,899 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,456,000. 91.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Homes 4 Rent Price Performance

Shares of AMH traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.45. 1,125,996 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,932,897. American Homes 4 Rent has a one year low of $33.75 and a one year high of $41.41. The firm has a market cap of $13.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.01, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $37.69 and a 200-day moving average of $37.51.

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $445.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $443.81 million. American Homes 4 Rent had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 21.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Homes 4 Rent will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Homes 4 Rent Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. American Homes 4 Rent’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMH. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of American Homes 4 Rent in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on American Homes 4 Rent in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on American Homes 4 Rent from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Homes 4 Rent from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Homes 4 Rent has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.60.

About American Homes 4 Rent

AMH (NYSE: AMH) is a leading large-scale integrated owner, operator and developer of single-family rental homes. We're an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing and managing homes as rental properties. Our goal is to simplify the experience of leasing a home and deliver peace of mind to households across the country.