Americold Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:COLD) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Americold Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:COLD) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,540,000 shares, a decline of 13.9% from the February 28th total of 5,270,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,220,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Americold Realty Trust Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:COLD traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $21.09. The company had a trading volume of 206,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,129,021. Americold Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $20.41 and a 1 year high of $30.45. The company has a market cap of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -61.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.85 and a 200 day moving average of $23.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $666.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $684.03 million. Americold Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 3.54% and a negative return on equity of 2.70%. Sell-side analysts expect that Americold Realty Trust will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Americold Realty Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from Americold Realty Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. Americold Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -270.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Americold Realty Trust from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Americold Realty Trust from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Americold Realty Trust from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on Americold Realty Trust from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.82.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Americold Realty Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Americold Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Americold Realty Trust by 1,081.4% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 2,033 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in Americold Realty Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $86,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Americold Realty Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 2,681.3% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 4,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.14% of the company’s stock.

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.