American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• American Tower has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on 21 covering firms: 16 buy ratings, one strong buy, and four holds. The average 12-month price target is about $215.57, above the stock’s recent trading level.
• The company beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $2.84 EPS versus the $1.60 estimate and revenue of $2.74 billion versus $2.66 billion expected. Management also provided FY2026 EPS guidance of 10.90 to 11.07.
• American Tower recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.79 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.3%. However, the payout ratio is high at 115.67%, which may be a point of concern for income investors.

American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.5714.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of American Tower in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of American Tower in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $215.00 price target for the company. Mizuho upgraded shares of American Tower from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $189.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Tower from $209.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of American Tower from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

American Tower Stock Performance

Shares of American Tower stock opened at $166.24 on Thursday. American Tower has a 12 month low of $160.06 and a 12 month high of $234.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.07. The stock has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.50.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $1.24. The firm had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 27.79% and a net margin of 26.81%.American Tower's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.75 earnings per share. American Tower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.900-11.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Tower will post 10.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Tower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $1.79 per share. This represents a $7.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 12th. American Tower's payout ratio is currently 115.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Tower

In related news, EVP Ruth T. Dowling sold 556 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.48, for a total transaction of $99,234.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,332,446.96. This trade represents a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in American Tower by 113.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,966 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in American Tower by 34.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its position in American Tower by 12.7% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 6,488 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in American Tower by 2.2% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 218,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of American Tower by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 34,248 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,570,000 after purchasing an additional 11,751 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Tower Company Profile

American Tower NYSE: AMT is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and develops wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure. The company's core business is leasing space on communications sites — including towers, rooftops and other structures — to wireless carriers, broadcasters, government agencies and enterprise customers. Its business model centers on long-term site leases and contracts that provide recurring revenue tied to the footprint and density of wireless networks.

Beyond traditional tower assets, American Tower offers a range of infrastructure and network services to support mobile, broadband and broadcast connectivity.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.