Hsbc Global Res Downgrades American Tower (NYSE:AMT) to Hold

Key Points

• American Tower (NYSE:AMT) was downgraded from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating by HSBC Global Research, indicating a shift in analysts' outlook.
• Despite the downgrade, several other analysts have maintained or increased their price targets for AMT, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.00.
• American Tower recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.60 EPS, beating estimates slightly, but experienced a revenue decline of 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AMT. HSBC downgraded shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of American Tower from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.88.

American Tower Stock Performance

American Tower stock traded up $3.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $212.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,232,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,893,405. The firm has a market cap of $99.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.16, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $218.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36. American Tower has a twelve month low of $172.51 and a twelve month high of $243.56.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 24.85%. The firm's revenue was down 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that American Tower will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Tower news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $149,997.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 23,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,130.25. The trade was a 2.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of American Tower

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blossom Wealth Management raised its holdings in American Tower by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 2,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 16,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,578,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Novem Group raised its holdings in American Tower by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Novem Group now owns 1,316 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in American Tower by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,684 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Tower by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.69% of the company's stock.

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.