Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 1,169,063 Shares of Americold Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE:COLD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Americold Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE:COLD - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,177,420 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,169,063 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 5.68% of Americold Realty Trust worth $347,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Americold Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,091 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 847 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Americold Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth about $52,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 3,390.0% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 2,712 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Americold Realty Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. 98.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jay Wells acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.91 per share, with a total value of $179,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $179,100. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO George F. Jr. Chappelle acquired 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $17.99 per share, for a total transaction of $1,978,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,978,900. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on COLD. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Americold Realty Trust from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Americold Realty Trust from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $21.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays upgraded shares of Americold Realty Trust from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $26.00 to $21.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Americold Realty Trust from $23.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Americold Realty Trust from $30.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $24.00.

Americold Realty Trust Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of COLD stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.88. 1,067,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,360,120. Americold Realty Trust Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.11 and a 1-year high of $30.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.84.

Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). Americold Realty Trust had a negative net margin of 4.58% and a negative return on equity of 3.60%. The firm had revenue of $628.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $667.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Americold Realty Trust Inc. will post 1.47 EPS for the current year.

Americold Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Americold Realty Trust's payout ratio is presently -213.95%.

Americold Realty Trust 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.