Short Interest in American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) Expands By 7.6%

American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 902,000 shares, a growth of 7.6% from the September 30th total of 838,300 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 245,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

American Assets Trust Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AAT opened at $27.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 3.03, a current ratio of 8.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. American Assets Trust has a 12-month low of $18.00 and a 12-month high of $28.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.17.

American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $110.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.66 million. American Assets Trust had a return on equity of 5.08% and a net margin of 12.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Analysts predict that American Assets Trust will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

American Assets Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.335 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.90%. American Assets Trust’s payout ratio is currently 147.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on American Assets Trust from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their target price on American Assets Trust from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th.

Institutional Trading of American Assets Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in American Assets Trust by 130.3% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in American Assets Trust by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,891 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in American Assets Trust by 516.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 4,838 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in American Assets Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $228,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in American Assets Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $229,000. 90.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About American Assets Trust

American Assets Trust, Inc is a full service, vertically integrated and self-administered real estate investment trust ("REIT"), headquartered in San Diego, California. The company has over 55 years of experience in acquiring, improving, developing and managing premier office, retail, and residential properties throughout the United States in some of the nation's most dynamic, high-barrier-to-entry markets primarily in Southern California, Northern California, Washington, Oregon, Texas and Hawaii.