American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $185.08, but opened at $190.00. American Tower shares last traded at $189.21, with a volume of 487,933 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AMT shares. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research note on Monday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Tower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.31.

American Tower Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. The company has a market cap of $88.69 billion, a PE ratio of 80.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $192.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.24.

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

American Tower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. American Tower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 273.42%.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of American Tower stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total value of $3,000,283.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in American Tower in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.