National Health Investors (NYSE:NHI) and Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) Critical Review

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

62.5% of National Health Investors shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.1% of Americold Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of National Health Investors shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Americold Realty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

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

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Health Investors	$375.63 million	10.39	$142.18 million	$3.10	25.96
Americold Realty Trust	$2.60 billion	1.57	-$114.55 million	($0.39)	-36.71

National Health Investors has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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.

Analyst Ratings

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

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

National Health Investors currently has a consensus target price of $83.86, indicating a potential upside of 4.19%. Americold Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $15.25, indicating a potential upside of 6.53%. Given Americold Realty Trust’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Americold Realty Trust is more favorable than National Health Investors.

Volatility & Risk

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

Dividends

National Health Investors pays an annual dividend of $3.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Americold Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. 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 pays out -235.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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.

Summary

National Health Investors beats Americold Realty Trust on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.