Analyzing Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) & National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI)

Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) and National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Americold Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. National Health Investors pays an annual dividend of $3.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Americold Realty Trust pays out -235.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Health Investors pays out 118.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Americold Realty Trust has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Americold Realty Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

Americold Realty Trust has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, National Health Investors has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

98.1% of Americold Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.5% of National Health Investors shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Americold Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of National Health Investors shares are held 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Americold Realty Trust and National Health Investors”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Americold Realty Trust	$2.60 billion	1.58	-$114.55 million	($0.39)	-36.99
National Health Investors	$375.63 million	9.80	$142.18 million	$3.10	24.49

National Health Investors has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Americold Realty Trust. Americold Realty Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Health Investors, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Americold Realty Trust and National Health Investors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Americold Realty Trust	-4.29%	-3.73%	-1.38%
National Health Investors	36.86%	9.82%	5.35%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Americold Realty Trust and National Health Investors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Americold Realty Trust	4	8	4	0	2.00
National Health Investors	1	2	5	0	2.50

Americold Realty Trust presently has a consensus target price of $15.25, indicating a potential upside of 5.72%. National Health Investors has a consensus target price of $83.86, indicating a potential upside of 10.46%. Given National Health Investors’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe National Health Investors is more favorable than Americold Realty Trust.

Summary

National Health Investors beats Americold Realty Trust on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Americold Realty Trust

Americold Realty Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust, which focuses on the ownership, operation, development, and acquisition of temperature-controlled warehouses. It operates through the following segments: Warehouse, Third-Party Managed, Transportation, and Other. The Warehouse segment collects rent and storage fees from customers to store frozen and perishable food and other products within the firm’s real estate portfolio. The Third-Party Managed segment manages warehouses on behalf of third parties and provides warehouse management services to food retailers and manufacturers in customer-owned facilities. The Transportation segment is involved in brokering and managing transportation of frozen and perishable food and other products. The Other segment includes ownership in a limestone quarry in Carthage, Missouri. The company was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

About National Health Investors

Incorporated in 1991, National Health Investors, Inc. (NYSE:NHI) is a real estate investment trust specializing in sale, leasebacks, joint-ventures, senior housing operating partnerships, and mortgage and mezzanine financing of need-driven and discretionary senior housing and medical investments. NHI's portfolio consists of independent living, assisted living and memory care communities, entrance-fee retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, and specialty hospitals.