American Healthcare REIT (NYSE:AHR) Trading 8.7% Higher on Earnings Beat

Shares of American Healthcare REIT, Inc. (NYSE:AHR) traded up 8.7% during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $35.07 and last traded at $35.01. 1,683,012 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 1,804,186 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.21.

The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $540.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $542.32 million. American Healthcare REIT had a negative net margin of 1.84% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS.

American Healthcare REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. American Healthcare REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -370.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Healthcare REIT from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of American Healthcare REIT from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of American Healthcare REIT in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities set a $35.00 price target on American Healthcare REIT in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on American Healthcare REIT in a report on Monday, April 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $33.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Healthcare REIT by 22.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,795,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $569,494,000 after buying an additional 3,437,861 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in American Healthcare REIT by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,373,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,923,000 after purchasing an additional 134,822 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in American Healthcare REIT by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,310,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,513,000 after purchasing an additional 94,925 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Healthcare REIT by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,699,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,171,000 after buying an additional 1,172,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in American Healthcare REIT by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,521,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,072,000 after acquiring an additional 422,869 shares during the last quarter. 16.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Healthcare REIT Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -72.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

About American Healthcare REIT

Formed by the successful merger of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT III and Griffin-American Healthcare REIT IV, as well as the acquisition of the business and operations of American Healthcare Investors, American Healthcare REIT is one of the larger healthcare-focused real estate investment trusts globally with assets totaling approximately $4.2 billion in gross investment value.