Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR) & American Healthcare REIT (NYSE:AHR) Critical Analysis

American Healthcare REIT (NYSE:AHR) and Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

American Healthcare REIT has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Extra Space Storage has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.7% of American Healthcare REIT shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.1% of Extra Space Storage shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of American Healthcare REIT shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Extra Space Storage shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

American Healthcare REIT pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Extra Space Storage pays an annual dividend of $6.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.0%. American Healthcare REIT pays out 714.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Extra Space Storage pays out 144.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Extra Space Storage has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Extra Space Storage is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares American Healthcare REIT and Extra Space Storage’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Healthcare REIT	1.21%	1.09%	0.58%
Extra Space Storage	28.40%	6.56%	3.31%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares American Healthcare REIT and Extra Space Storage”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Healthcare REIT	$2.07 billion	4.09	-$37.81 million	$0.14	342.19
Extra Space Storage	$3.34 billion	8.31	$854.68 million	$4.48	29.21

Extra Space Storage has higher revenue and earnings than American Healthcare REIT. Extra Space Storage is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Healthcare REIT, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for American Healthcare REIT and Extra Space Storage, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Healthcare REIT	0	2	10	2	3.00
Extra Space Storage	0	11	6	0	2.35

American Healthcare REIT presently has a consensus price target of $51.64, indicating a potential upside of 7.78%. Extra Space Storage has a consensus price target of $147.00, indicating a potential upside of 12.32%. Given Extra Space Storage’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Extra Space Storage is more favorable than American Healthcare REIT.

Summary

Extra Space Storage beats American Healthcare REIT on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The company benefits from a fully integrated management platform comprised of more than one hundred experienced and skilled professionals, many of whom have worked together since 2006 and have successfully invested in and managed healthcare real estate through multiple market cycles. The management team has a proven track record, deep industry relationships and unparalleled insight into each of the company's assets having built and nurtured the company's international portfolio since its original property acquisition in 2014. The strength of the management team, coupled with the quality of the assets, has American Healthcare REIT poised to capitalize on compelling growth driven by powerful demographic trends. With its 19 million-square-foot, 312-building portfolio of medical office buildings, senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities and integrated senior health campuses diversified across 36 states and the United Kingdom, the tri-party transaction was a critical step in ideally positioning American Healthcare REIT for a future public listing or IPO on a national stock exchange at the most opportune time. By listing the company's shares on a national exchange, we believe the company will gain greater access to attractive capital that will fuel future growth, broaden our investor base and also provide liquidity to our fellow stockholders. American Healthcare REIT, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Griffin Capital Company, LLC.

About Extra Space Storage

Extra Space Storage Inc., headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and a member of the S&P 500. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned and/or operated 3,714 self-storage stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C. The Company's stores comprise approximately 2.6 million units and approximately 283.0 million square feet of rentable space operating under the Extra Space, Life Storage and Storage Express brands. The Company offers customers a wide selection of conveniently located and secure storage units across the country, including boat storage, RV storage and business storage. It is the largest operator of self-storage properties in the United States.