Brokerages expect American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) to post EPS of $0.53

Wall Street brokers predict that American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT – Get a rating) will report earnings per share of $0.53 for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Two analysts released earnings estimates for American Assets Trust, with the lowest EPS estimate of $0.52 and the highest estimate of $0.54. American Assets Trust posted earnings per share of $0.38 in the same quarter last year, suggesting a positive year-over-year growth rate of 39.5%. The company is due to release its next quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, April 26.

On average, analysts expect American Assets Trust to report annual earnings of $2.16 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.14 to $2.18. For next year, analysts expect the company to post earnings of $2.30 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.27 to $2.32. Zacks earnings per share averages are an average average based on a survey of sales analysts who cover American Assets Trust.

American Assets Trust (NYSE: AAT – Get a rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 8. The real estate investment trust reported earnings per share of $0.14 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. American Assets Trust had a net margin of 7.55% and a return on equity of 2.32%. During the same period last year, the company posted earnings per share of $0.41.

Several analysts have recently released reports on the stock. Mizuho cut its price target on American Assets Trust shares from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a Tuesday, February 15 research report. Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of American Assets Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 11.

NYSE AAT traded down $0.08 during Friday’s midday session, hitting $37.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 382,764 shares, compared to an average volume of 270,675. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is 37 $.41. American Assets Trust has a 12-month low of $31.47 and a 12-month high of $40.83. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a debt ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 77.27, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.19.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 24. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 10 will receive a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a dividend of $1.28 on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 9. This is a positive change from American Assets Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. American Assets Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 266.67%.

Separately, CEO Ernest S. Rady acquired 12,057 shares of the company in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 29. The shares were purchased at an average price of $36.48 per share, with a total value of $439,839.36. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, accessible via the SEC website. Additionally, CEO Ernest S. Rady acquired 17,107 shares of the company in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 22. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $36.15 per share, for a total transaction of $618,418.05. Disclosure of this purchase can be found here. Over the past three months, insiders have purchased 71,341 shares of the company valued at $2,567,849. Insiders hold 33.67% of the shares of the company.

Institutional investors have recently changed their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Assets Trust during Q4, valued at $18,247,000. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stock position in American Assets Trust in Q4 for $7,466,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in American Assets Trust shares by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,638,363 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $361,725,000 after acquiring an additional 378,845 shares in the last quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in American Assets Trust by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vident Investment Advisory LLC now owns 44,630 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in American Assets Trust by 289.0% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 662,031 shares of the real estate investment trust worth $24,847,000 after buying an additional 491,842 shares last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors hold 94.66% of the company’s shares.

About American Assets Trust (Get a rating)

American Assets Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust. It owns, operates, acquires and develops retail shopping centers; office buildings; mixed-use properties; and multi-family properties. The Company operates in the following business segments: retail, office, multi-family and mixed-use.

Further reading

Get a free copy of Zacks’ research report on American Assets Trust (AAT)

For more information on Zacks Investment Research’s research offerings, visit Zacks.com

This instant alert was powered by MarketBeat’s narrative science technology and financial data to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reports. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send questions or comments about this story to [email protected]

Should you invest $1,000 in American Assets Trust right now?

Before you consider American Assets Trust, you’ll want to hear this.

MarketBeat tracks Wall Street’s top-rated, top-performing research analysts daily and the stocks they recommend to their clients. MarketBeat identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the market takes over…and American Assets Trust was not on the list.

While American Assets Trust currently has a “Hold” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

See the 5 actions here