Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD) Shares Climb 5.2% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Americold shares rose 5.2% to about $16.73 in Friday mid-day trading, while trading volume was 34% below its average.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.35, beating consensus estimates of a $0.02 loss, and revenue of $691.56 million versus estimates of $640.82 million; revenue increased 4.2% year over year.
• Analyst opinions remain mixed: six rate the stock Buy, eight Hold and two Sell, for an overall Hold consensus. The company’s quarterly dividend is $0.23 per share, equivalent to a 5.5% annualized yield.

Shares of Americold Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE:COLD - Get Free Report) rose 5.2% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $16.77 and last traded at $16.7320. 2,871,726 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 4,352,682 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on COLD shares. Bank of America upgraded Americold Realty Trust from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Americold Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Piper Sandler raised Americold Realty Trust from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Americold Realty Trust from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Americold Realty Trust from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and set a $16.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.89.

Americold Realty Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Americold Realty Trust (NYSE:COLD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.37. The business had revenue of $691.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $640.82 million. Americold Realty Trust had a return on equity of 8.44% and a net margin of 9.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Americold Realty Trust Inc. will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Americold Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.5%. Americold Realty Trust's payout ratio is 110.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Americold Realty Trust by 79.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,834 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Americold Realty Trust by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the last quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Americold Realty Trust by 726.2% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 3,776 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in Americold Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Americold Realty Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.14% of the company's stock.

About Americold Realty Trust

Americold Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust that owns and operates temperature-controlled warehouses and provides logistics services for the food supply chain. Its facilities help customers store and move perishable products, including food produced by manufacturers and processors and products distributed to retailers and food-service businesses. The company offers refrigerated and frozen storage, handling, transportation and other supply chain services. It also manages temperature-controlled facilities for third parties, combining warehouse space with operational support for customers' distribution needs.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.