American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT – Get Rating) benefited from a sharp drop in short interest in July. As of July 31, there was short interest totaling 915,100 shares, down 8.5% from the July 15 total of 1,000,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 242,200 shares, the short-term interest rate ratio is currently 3.8 days.

American Assets Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AAT opened at $30.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 2.34. The stock’s fifty-day moving average price is $29.87 and its two-hundred-day moving average price is $33.57. American Assets Trust has a one-year low of $28.38 and a one-year high of $40.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price/earnings ratio of 45.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10.

American Assets Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 22. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 8 will receive a dividend of $0.32. This represents a dividend of $1.28 on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 7. American Assets Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 191.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Assets Trust

Separately, CEO Ernest S. Rady acquired 10,000 shares of the company in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 10. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.80 per share, for a total transaction of $298,000.00. Following the purchase, the CEO now directly owns 6,650,784 shares of the company, valued at approximately $198,193,363.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, accessible via the SEC’s website. Separately, CEO Ernest S. Rady acquired 10,000 shares of the company in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 10. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.80 per share, for a total transaction of $298,000.00. Following the purchase, the CEO now directly owns 6,650,784 shares of the company, valued at approximately $198,193,363.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, accessible via the SEC’s website. Additionally, CEO Ernest S. Rady acquired 1,197 shares of the company in a transaction dated Monday, May 23. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.15 per share, for a total transaction of $38,483.55. As a result of the purchase, the CEO now owns 2,107,816 shares of the company, valued at $67,766,284.40. Disclosure of this purchase can be found here. During the last quarter, insiders purchased 111,197 shares of the company worth $3,432,084. Company insiders hold 34.38% of the company’s shares.

Institutional entries and exits

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently increased or reduced their stake in the company. CWM LLC increased its position in American Assets Trust shares by 210.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 698 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $26,000 after buying 473 additional shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. increased its position in American Assets Trust shares by 97.6% during the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 727 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $28,000 after buying 359 additional shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of American Assets Trust during Q2 worth $42,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in American Assets Trust by 207.6% in the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Asset Management LLC bought a new position in American Assets Trust in the first quarter, valued at around $69,000. 94.83% of the shares are held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A Wall Street analyst gives his opinion

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AAT shares recently. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on American Assets Trust shares in a Thursday, July 14, report. Morgan Stanley lowered its price target on American Assets Trust from $34.50 to $25.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a Friday, July 15 report. Finally, TheStreet downgraded American Assets Trust from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, June 16. Four research analysts rated the stock with a holding rating. Based on MarketBeat data, American Assets Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.25.

About American Assets Trust

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American Assets Trust, Inc is a full-service, vertically integrated, self-administered real estate investment trust or REIT, headquartered in San Diego, California. The company has more than 50 years of experience acquiring, improving, developing and managing prime office, retail and residential properties across the United States in some of the world’s toughest markets. most dynamic and difficult to access in the country, mainly in southern California, northern California, Oregon, Washington, Texas and Hawaii.

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