Short Interest in Americold Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:COLD) Declines By 19.3%

Americold Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:COLD) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,350,000 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the April 30th total of 6,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,030,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Americold Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of COLD opened at $16.59 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Americold Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $16.29 and a 52-week high of $30.45. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.92. The company has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.95.

Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $628.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $667.18 million. Americold Realty Trust had a negative return on equity of 2.70% and a negative net margin of 3.54%. Americold Realty Trust’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Americold Realty Trust will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Americold Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.55%. Americold Realty Trust’s payout ratio is currently -213.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on COLD shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Americold Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Americold Realty Trust from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Americold Realty Trust from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays raised Americold Realty Trust from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Americold Realty Trust from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Americold Realty Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.09.

Insider Transactions at Americold Realty Trust

In other news, CFO Jay Wells purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.91 per share, with a total value of $179,100.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,100. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO George F. Jr. Chappelle purchased 110,000 shares of Americold Realty Trust stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.99 per share, for a total transaction of $1,978,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 110,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,978,900. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Americold Realty Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in Americold Realty Trust by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 28,837,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,085,000 after acquiring an additional 4,049,374 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Americold Realty Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $478,674,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Americold Realty Trust by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 16,177,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $347,167,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169,063 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Americold Realty Trust by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,382,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,394,000 after acquiring an additional 121,452 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its stake in Americold Realty Trust by 115.8% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 6,387,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,698,000 after buying an additional 3,427,083 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.14% of the company’s stock.

Americold Realty Trust Company Profile

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.