Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Americold Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:COLD) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $21.02, but opened at $22.47. Americold Realty Trust shares last traded at $22.20, with a volume of 717,660 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.27. Americold Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 10.63% and a negative return on equity of 8.08%.

Americold Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Americold Realty Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently -87.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COLD shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Americold Realty Trust from $33.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Americold Realty Trust from $31.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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 reduced their price objective on Americold Realty Trust from $31.00 to $27.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Americold Realty Trust from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Americold Realty Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert E. Harris sold 1,836 shares of Americold Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.64, for a total transaction of $41,567.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,589.68. This trade represents a 49.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Americold Realty Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COLD. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 78,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Americold Realty Trust by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 18,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 124,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,674,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.14% of the company’s stock.

Americold Realty Trust Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.84. The company has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.61. 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 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.