American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

AAT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of American Assets Trust from $28.00 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of American Assets Trust from $24.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th.

American Assets Trust Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NYSE AAT traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $19.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 327,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,565. The company has a current ratio of 8.17, a quick ratio of 8.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. American Assets Trust has a fifty-two week low of $16.69 and a fifty-two week high of $29.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.81.

American Assets Trust (NYSE:AAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.07. American Assets Trust had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 4.98%. The company had revenue of $108.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $112.05 million. Equities research analysts predict that American Assets Trust will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

American Assets Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.86%. American Assets Trust's payout ratio is 107.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Assets Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in American Assets Trust during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in American Assets Trust during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in American Assets Trust by 227.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in American Assets Trust by 62.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,827 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in American Assets Trust by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,217 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161 shares during the period. 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.