Short Interest in Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AHT) Expands By 14.5%

Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AHT) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 137,900 shares, a growth of 14.5% from the October 31st total of 120,400 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 43,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Ashford Hospitality Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

Ashford Hospitality Trust Trading Up 8.3 %

NYSE:AHT traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.05. The stock had a trading volume of 68,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,487. Ashford Hospitality Trust has a twelve month low of $5.20 and a twelve month high of $24.75. The company has a market capitalization of $49.96 million, a PE ratio of -0.70 and a beta of 2.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.24.

Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The real estate investment trust reported ($12.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($12.99). The business had revenue of $276.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.50 million. Ashford Hospitality Trust had a net margin of 2.84% and a negative return on equity of 12.89%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ashford Hospitality Trust will post -2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ashford Hospitality Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AHT. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ashford Hospitality Trust by 76.1% in the second quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 29,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 12,888 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ashford Hospitality Trust by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 482,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 22,400 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Ashford Hospitality Trust by 97.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 58,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 28,800 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ashford Hospitality Trust in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ashford Hospitality Trust by 24.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 195,330 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 38,215 shares in the last quarter. 41.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ashford Hospitality Trust

Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc, together with its subsidiaries (Ashford Trust), is a real estate investment trust (REIT). While our portfolio currently consists of upscale hotels and upper upscale full-service hotels, our investment strategy is predominantly focused on investing in upper upscale full-service hotels in the United States that have revenue per available room (RevPAR) generally less than twice the U.S.