American Healthcare REIT, Inc. (NYSE:AHR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

American Healthcare REIT, Inc. (NYSE:AHR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,150,000 shares, an increase of 68.5% from the December 15th total of 5,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,900,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 6.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

American Healthcare REIT Price Performance

Shares of AHR stock opened at $28.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. American Healthcare REIT has a 12-month low of $12.63 and a 12-month high of $29.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.07 and a 200-day moving average of $23.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -59.72.

American Healthcare REIT (NYSE:AHR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.35). American Healthcare REIT had a negative net margin of 1.84% and a negative return on equity of 1.87%. The business had revenue of $523.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $474.26 million. American Healthcare REIT’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Healthcare REIT will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

American Healthcare REIT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. American Healthcare REIT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -208.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in American Healthcare REIT by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of American Healthcare REIT by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of American Healthcare REIT by 34.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of American Healthcare REIT by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 10,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 754 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Healthcare REIT during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AHR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of American Healthcare REIT from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of American Healthcare REIT from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of American Healthcare REIT from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JMP Securities raised their price target on American Healthcare REIT from $18.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Colliers Securities raised American Healthcare REIT from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Healthcare REIT has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

American Healthcare REIT Company 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.