Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) Stock Price Up 13.4% Following Strong Earnings

Key Points

• 13.4% rally — Americold shares jumped 13.4% intraday after reporting quarterly EPS of $0.29 versus analysts' -$0.04 estimate and issuing FY2026 guidance of $1.20–$1.30 per share.
• Dividend despite weak profitability — The company paid a $0.23 quarterly dividend (annualized yield 6.3%) even as it showed a negative net margin (-4.4%), negative ROE (-3.71%) and a dividend payout ratio of -230%.
• Mixed analyst view and heavy institutional ownership — Broker ratings span Buy to Sell with a MarketBeat consensus of "Reduce" and a $14.10 target, while roughly 98% of the stock is held by hedge funds and other institutions.

Americold Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE:COLD - Get Free Report) rose 13.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $14.54 and last traded at $14.4010. Approximately 1,747,884 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 4,546,419 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.70.

The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.33. Americold Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 4.40% and a negative return on equity of 3.71%. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.34 earnings per share. Americold Realty Trust has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.200-1.300 EPS.

Americold Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. Americold Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -230.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COLD. Bank of America cut Americold Realty Trust from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Compass Point assumed coverage on shares of Americold Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $14.50 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Americold Realty Trust in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Americold Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Americold Realty Trust from $11.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $14.10.

Institutional Trading of Americold Realty Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 34.9% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,808 shares of the company's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,795 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Americold Realty Trust by 53.0% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 228,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 79,329 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Americold Realty Trust by 1.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,877,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,977,000 after purchasing an additional 40,119 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 9.0% in the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 44,907 shares of the company's stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in Americold Realty Trust in the first quarter worth $177,000. 98.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Americold Realty Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.15 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.08 and a 200 day moving average of $12.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

About Americold Realty Trust

Americold Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust specializing in temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics solutions. The company owns, operates, and develops a global network of cold storage facilities designed to support the storage, handling, and distribution of perishable products. Services include blast freezing, repacking, labeling, cross-docking, and transportation management, all integrated to streamline clients' cold chain operations and help ensure product quality and safety from origin to point of consumption.

With roots dating back to the early 20th century, Americold has expanded through strategic acquisitions and facility development to become one of the world's largest publicly traded cold storage providers.

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