Head-To-Head Analysis: American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) versus Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO)

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:PECO) and American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, valuation and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.7% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.9% of American Homes 4 Rent shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.9% of Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.3% of American Homes 4 Rent shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. American Homes 4 Rent pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. pays out 246.0% 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 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.

Profitability

This table compares Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and American Homes 4 Rent’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.	9.48%	2.40%	1.27%
American Homes 4 Rent	23.86%	5.33%	3.15%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and American Homes 4 Rent”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.	$661.39 million	6.87	$62.69 million	$0.50	72.62
American Homes 4 Rent	$1.73 billion	7.79	$412.43 million	$1.08	33.75

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

Volatility and Risk

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Homes 4 Rent has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. and American Homes 4 Rent, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.	0	3	3	0	2.50
American Homes 4 Rent	0	6	9	0	2.60

Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. presently has a consensus target price of $39.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.41%. American Homes 4 Rent has a consensus target price of $40.47, suggesting a potential upside of 11.00%. Given American Homes 4 Rent’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Homes 4 Rent is more favorable than Phillips Edison & Company, Inc..

Summary

American Homes 4 Rent beats Phillips Edison & Company, Inc. on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Phillips Edison & Company, Inc.

Phillips Edison & Co., Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the ownership and operation of shopping centers. It also offers an investment management business providing property management and advisory services. Its portfolio consists of well-occupied, grocery-anchored neighborhood and community shopping centers having a mix of national, regional, and local retailers offering necessity-based goods and services. The company was founded by Jeffrey S. Edison and Michael C. Phillips in 1991 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH.

About American Homes 4 Rent

American Homes 4 Rent operates as a real estate investment trust. It engages in the acquisition, renovation, leasing, and operating of single-family homes as rental properties. The company was founded by Bradley Wayne Hughes, Sr. on October 19, 2012 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, NV.