Vestcor Inc Increases Position in Americold Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE:COLD)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc significantly increased its position in Americold Realty Trust, boosting its holdings by 526.2% in the first quarter, resulting in a total of 25,313 shares valued at $543,000.
• Several hedge funds have also expanded their investments in Americold Realty Trust, with 98.14% of the stock currently owned by institutional investors.
• Americold Realty Trust announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 5.8%, despite having a payout ratio of -213.95%.

Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in shares of Americold Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE:COLD - Free Report) by 526.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,313 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,271 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Americold Realty Trust were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 28,837,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,085,000 after buying an additional 4,049,374 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 1,169,063 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,382,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,394,000 after purchasing an additional 121,452 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 115.8% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 6,387,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,427,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,772,373 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,159,000 after acquiring an additional 22,163 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on COLD shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Americold Realty Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $20.00 target price on shares of Americold Realty Trust in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Americold Realty Trust from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Americold Realty Trust from $30.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Americold Realty Trust from $27.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.92.

Insider Transactions at Americold Realty Trust

In other Americold Realty Trust news, CEO George F. Jr. Chappelle acquired 110,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.99 per share, for a total transaction of $1,978,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 110,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,978,900. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jay Wells purchased 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $17.91 per share, for a total transaction of $179,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $179,100. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Americold Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Americold Realty Trust stock traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $14.75. 7,897,194 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,877,003. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.12. Americold Realty Trust Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.67 and a 12 month high of $29.81.

Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.02. Americold Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 4.58% and a negative return on equity of 3.60%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Americold Realty Trust's revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Americold Realty Trust Inc. will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Americold Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Americold Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently -213.95%.

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.