American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Hsbc Global Res

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) was upgraded by research analysts at Hsbc Global Res to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on AMT. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities started coverage on American Tower in a research report on Monday, January 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on American Tower from $215.00 to $214.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on American Tower from $236.00 to $220.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded American Tower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.21.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT opened at $205.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $96.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.76, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $187.09 and a 200-day moving average of $206.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27. American Tower has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.79 by $0.83. American Tower had a return on equity of 22.01% and a net margin of 10.05%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In other American Tower news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in American Tower during the third quarter worth about $34,000. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.