Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in American Homes 4 Rent $AMH

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,550,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 584,542 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 3.92% of American Homes 4 Rent worth $483,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 10,728.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in American Homes 4 Rent by 922.2% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 828 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 747 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in American Homes 4 Rent in the second quarter worth about $33,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in American Homes 4 Rent in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Homes 4 Rent during the third quarter worth about $47,000. 91.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of American Homes 4 Rent in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on American Homes 4 Rent from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Homes 4 Rent from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on American Homes 4 Rent from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Homes 4 Rent currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.44.

American Homes 4 Rent Price Performance

NYSE:AMH opened at $31.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.02. The firm has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.41. American Homes 4 Rent has a one year low of $28.84 and a one year high of $39.49.

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.01. American Homes 4 Rent had a return on equity of 5.90% and a net margin of 24.70%.The business had revenue of $478.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $475.75 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Homes 4 Rent will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

American Homes 4 Rent Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. American Homes 4 Rent’s dividend payout ratio is currently 101.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Douglas N. Benham acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $31.65 per share, for a total transaction of $31,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,991 shares in the company, valued at approximately $252,915.15. The trade was a 14.30% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jack E. Corrigan bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.96 per share, for a total transaction of $114,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 17,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $397,208. This represents a 40.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 6.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Homes 4 Rent Profile

American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the acquisition, development and management of single-family rental homes. Since its initial public offering in April 2013, the company has focused on building a large-scale, professionally managed portfolio of homes designed to meet the needs of today’s renters. Its business model emphasizes the acquisition of well-located properties coupled with consistent, in-house property management to drive occupancy and long-term value.

As of the most recent reporting, American Homes 4 Rent owns and operates tens of thousands of homes across the United States, with concentration in key Sun Belt and high-growth markets.