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

American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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 stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 240,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Insider Activity at American Assets Trust

In other news, COO Adam Wyll sold 30,238 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.22, for a total transaction of $853,316.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,286,690.90. This represents a 39.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 37.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Assets Trust

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in American Assets Trust by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 584,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,619,000 after purchasing an additional 72,579 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in American Assets Trust by 4.3% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in American Assets Trust by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,267,222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,866,000 after acquiring an additional 15,491 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in American Assets Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $103,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of American Assets Trust by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,946,000 after purchasing an additional 57,850 shares during the last quarter. 90.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

American Assets Trust Stock Performance

American Assets Trust stock opened at $26.26 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 8.53 and a current ratio of 8.53. American Assets Trust has a one year low of $20.03 and a one year high of $29.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86 and a beta of 1.30.

American Assets Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.10%. American Assets Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.25%.

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.