American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.23 EPS

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The real estate investment trust reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $1.23, Zacks reports. American Tower had a net margin of 31.08% and a return on equity of 32.76%.

American Tower Stock Performance

NYSE:AMT opened at $188.14 on Tuesday. American Tower has a 1 year low of $160.06 and a 1 year high of $202.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.67 billion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.88.

American Tower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $1.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $7.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rajesh Kalathur purchased 2,829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $177.00 per share, for a total transaction of $500,733.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 7,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,374,405. The trade was a 57.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Joseph Meyer sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.89, for a total value of $894,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,833,254.92. This represents a 18.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $208.00 target price on American Tower in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Wolfe Research raised American Tower from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $188.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded American Tower from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on American Tower from $210.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on American Tower from $225.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.90.

American Tower Company Profile

American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops wireless communications infrastructure. Its portfolio primarily includes communications towers, rooftop sites, distributed antenna systems and other infrastructure used by wireless carriers, broadcasters, governments and businesses to support voice, data and video communications.

The company leases space on its sites to multiple customers, allowing them to install antennas and related equipment without building and maintaining individual tower locations.