Wall Street Zen Downgrades American Tower (NYSE:AMT) to Sell

Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Tower (NYSE:AMT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of American Tower in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price target on American Tower from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of American Tower in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 price target on American Tower and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, HSBC downgraded American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.07.

American Tower Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE:AMT opened at $185.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $200.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.51. American Tower has a 52 week low of $172.51 and a 52 week high of $234.33. The company has a market cap of $86.84 billion, a PE ratio of 67.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.86.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.01. American Tower had a return on equity of 24.85% and a net margin of 12.60%.The company had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.79 EPS. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was down 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. American Tower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.460-10.650 EPS. On average, analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. American Tower’s payout ratio is presently 247.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Tower news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $149,997.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 23,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,880,130.25. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in American Tower during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of American Tower by 136.4% during the 2nd quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

About American Tower

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.