American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Coverage Initiated at JMP Securities

Investment analysts at JMP Securities assumed coverage on shares of American Tower (NYSE:AMT) in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock. JMP Securities’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.28% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on AMT. Barclays decreased their price objective on American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.23.

American Tower Stock Performance

AMT opened at $187.06 on Monday. American Tower has a 12-month low of $170.46 and a 12-month high of $243.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $191.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Tower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in American Tower by 269.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in American Tower by 431.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

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.