Short Interest in American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) Expands By 8.3%

American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 860,700 shares, an increase of 8.3% from the November 30th total of 794,500 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 240,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AAT shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of American Assets Trust from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on American Assets Trust from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

American Assets Trust Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AAT traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $26.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 174,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 278,505. The company has a current ratio of 8.53, a quick ratio of 8.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.42 and a 200-day moving average of $26.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86 and a beta of 1.30. American Assets Trust has a 52-week low of $20.03 and a 52-week high of $29.15.

American Assets Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.335 per share. This represents a $1.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.10%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. American Assets Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Adam Wyll sold 30,238 shares of American Assets Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.22, for a total transaction of $853,316.36. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,286,690.90. The trade was a 39.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 37.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Assets Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAT. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in American Assets Trust by 130.3% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,059 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in American Assets Trust by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,891 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in American Assets Trust by 131.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc bought a new position in American Assets Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in American Assets Trust by 516.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 4,838 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.43% of the company’s stock.

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.