American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 810,700 shares, a decrease of 10.1% from the October 15th total of 902,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 235,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on American Assets Trust from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Assets Trust from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAT. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in shares of American Assets Trust by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 35,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 23,452 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in American Assets Trust by 633.0% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 166,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,644,000 after acquiring an additional 143,707 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in American Assets Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $807,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of American Assets Trust by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 779,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,436,000 after purchasing an additional 69,985 shares in the last quarter. 90.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Assets Trust Trading Up 2.8 %

AAT stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.82. The company had a trading volume of 138,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,033. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.07 and a 200 day moving average of $24.76. American Assets Trust has a 12 month low of $18.44 and a 12 month high of $28.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 8.53 and a quick ratio of 8.53.

American Assets Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $1.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. American Assets Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.