American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,560,000 shares, an increase of 15.6% from the May 31st total of 4,810,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

American Tower Stock Down 0.9 %

American Tower stock opened at $192.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.39, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. American Tower has a fifty-two week low of $154.58 and a fifty-two week high of $219.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $188.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.83. The firm has a market cap of $89.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.81.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.43 by ($0.47). American Tower had a return on equity of 18.45% and a net margin of 18.42%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. American Tower’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.03 earnings per share for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 146.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total value of $128,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert D. Hormats sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.50, for a total transaction of $128,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,345,422. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sanjay Goel sold 3,504 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,692,828.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Tower during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in American Tower in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMT has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of 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. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $243.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $234.00 to $223.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Tower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.67.

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.