American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Earns Buy Rating from Argus

American Tower (NYSE:AMT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Argus in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $210.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Argus‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.23% from the stock’s previous close.

AMT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research upgraded American Tower from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Mizuho set a $208.00 price objective on American Tower in a report on Thursday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on American Tower from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Tower in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.11.

American Tower Price Performance

AMT stock traded down $5.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $188.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,958,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,699,981. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $177.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.65. The company has a market capitalization of $87.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.85. American Tower has a 1 year low of $160.06 and a 1 year high of $202.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.51 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64. American Tower had a net margin of 30.10% and a return on equity of 32.71%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 10.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Tower announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, October 27th that permits the company to buy back $2 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at American Tower

In related news, Director Rajesh Kalathur acquired 2,829 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $177.00 per share, for a total transaction of $500,733.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 7,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,374,405. This represents a 57.31% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ruth Dowling sold 952 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.81, for a total value of $176,891.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,133 shares in the company, valued at $4,855,772.73. This trade represents a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Tower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Tower by 178.3% in the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 167 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

About American Tower

American Tower Corporation is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and develops communications infrastructure. Its portfolio includes wireless and broadcast communications sites, such as towers and rooftop installations, where mobile network operators and other customers place antennas and related equipment.

The company also provides services related to site acquisition, development, construction and maintenance. Through its CoreSite business, American Tower operates data centers and provides colocation and interconnection services.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Boston, American Tower serves customers in the United States and in markets across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America.