American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $230.42.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of American Tower from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $246.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Monday, July 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

American Tower Stock Up 3.4 %

AMT stock opened at $227.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.42. American Tower has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $229.22. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $200.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.11. The stock has a market cap of $106.44 billion, a PE ratio of 51.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.52). American Tower had a return on equity of 23.06% and a net margin of 21.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.04 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 146.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.36, for a total transaction of $702,061.44. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently 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.