American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Tower (NYSE:AMT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AMT. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on American Tower from $183.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James raised American Tower from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $230.42.

American Tower Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AMT opened at $234.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $109.57 billion, a PE ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. American Tower has a 12-month low of $154.58 and a 12-month high of $236.00.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 10.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio is 146.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total value of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,692,828.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new position in American Tower during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Tower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Tower in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Company Profile

American Tower, one of the largest global REITs, is a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate with a portfolio of over 224,000 communications sites and a highly interconnected footprint of U.S. data center facilities.