Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH – Get Rating) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

According to Zacks, “American Homes 4 Rent is an internally managed real estate investment trust. It is focused on acquiring, renovating, leasing, and operating single-family homes as rental properties. It rents residential properties primarily in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, and Nevada. American Homes 4 Rent is based in Malibu, California. “

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AMH. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of American Homes 4 Rent in a report on Tuesday, February 1st. They issued a sector weight rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of American Homes 4 Rent in a research report on Wednesday, April 20th. They set a buy rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on American Homes 4 Rent in a research report on Thursday, April 14th. They set an outperform rating and a $46.00 price target on the stock. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on American Homes 4 Rent from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on American Homes 4 Rent from $43.50 to $41.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $45.06.

Shares of AMH stock opened at $35.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.62, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.58. American Homes 4 Rent has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $44.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $39.72 and its 200 day moving average is $40.13.

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $356.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $355.76 million. American Homes 4 Rent had a return on equity of 3.13% and a net margin of 13.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Homes 4 Rent will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 15th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 14th. American Homes 4 Rent’s payout ratio is currently 153.19%.

In related news, Director Douglas N. Benham purchased 1,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.41 per share, with a total value of $32,397.75. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 6.03% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMH. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in American Homes 4 Rent by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 23,487,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,024,294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384,487 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Homes 4 Rent by 1.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 18,077,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $723,633,000 after buying an additional 244,790 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in American Homes 4 Rent in the 4th quarter valued at $701,205,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,706,399 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $466,906,000 after acquiring an additional 843,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,256,460 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $360,064,000 after acquiring an additional 2,921,537 shares during the period. 88.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Homes 4 Rent Company Profile (Get Rating)

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and “American Homes 4 Rent” is fast becoming a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high-quality, good value and tenant satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties.

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