Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in American Healthcare REIT, Inc. (NYSE:AHR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in American Healthcare REIT, Inc. (NYSE:AHR) by 54.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,488,750 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,330,714 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of American Healthcare REIT worth $247,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Healthcare REIT by 13.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 167,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,129,000 after acquiring an additional 20,174 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of American Healthcare REIT in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Healthcare REIT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $946,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Healthcare REIT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $293,000. Finally, Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new position in shares of American Healthcare REIT during the third quarter valued at about $259,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.68% of the company’s stock.

American Healthcare REIT Stock Performance

Shares of American Healthcare REIT stock opened at $27.21 on Friday. American Healthcare REIT, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.63 and a 1 year high of $29.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $27.08 and its 200 day moving average is $21.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

American Healthcare REIT (NYSE:AHR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.35). The firm had revenue of $523.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $474.26 million. American Healthcare REIT had a negative return on equity of 1.87% and a negative net margin of 1.84%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Healthcare REIT, Inc. will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Healthcare REIT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. American Healthcare REIT’s dividend payout ratio is -208.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AHR shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Healthcare REIT from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on American Healthcare REIT from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JMP Securities upped their price target on American Healthcare REIT from $18.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on American Healthcare REIT from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Colliers Securities raised shares of American Healthcare REIT from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.13.

American Healthcare REIT Profile

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.