Our Take On American Campus Communities' (NYSE:ACC) CEO Salary

Bill Bayless has been the CEO of American Campus Communities, Inc. (NYSE:ACC) since 2003, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent funds from operations growth and investor returns for American Campus Communities.

Check out our latest analysis for American Campus Communities

How Does Total Compensation For Bill Bayless Compare With Other Companies In The Industry?

According to our data, American Campus Communities, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$5.8b, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$5.8m over the year to December 2019. We note that's an increase of 24% above last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$800k.

For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between US$4.0b and US$12b had a median total CEO compensation of US$6.0m. From this we gather that Bill Bayless is paid around the median for CEOs in the industry. Moreover, Bill Bayless also holds US$13m worth of American Campus Communities stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company.

On an industry level, around 15% of total compensation represents salary and 85% is other remuneration. Our data reveals that American Campus Communities allocates salary more or less in line with the wider market. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance.

A Look at American Campus Communities, Inc.'s Growth Numbers

Over the last three years, American Campus Communities, Inc. has shrunk its funds from operations (FFO) by 1.2% per year. Its revenue is down 4.3% over the previous year.

The lack of FFO growth is certainly unimpressive. And the impression is worse when you consider revenue is down year-on-year. So given this relatively weak performance, shareholders would probably not want to see high compensation for the CEO. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings..

Has American Campus Communities, Inc. Been A Good Investment?

American Campus Communities, Inc. has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 22% over three years. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary...

As previously discussed, Bill is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. American Campus Communities has had a poor showing when it comes to FFO growth, and it's tough to say that shareholder returns have done much to excite us. This doesn't compare well with CEO compensation, which is close to the industry median. We would stop short of the compensation is inappropriate, but we can't say the executive is underpaid.

CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also need to pay attention to other attributes of the company. We identified 3 warning signs for American Campus Communities (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Important note: American Campus Communities is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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