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

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 investment analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $223.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Tower from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. HSBC lowered shares of American Tower from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $250.00 price objective on shares of American Tower and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.88.

American Tower Price Performance

Shares of AMT stock traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $212.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 955,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,622,466. American Tower has a 1-year low of $172.51 and a 1-year high of $243.56. The company has a market cap of $99.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.40, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50-day moving average is $218.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.67.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Juan Font sold 720 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $149,997.60. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,809,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,667,344,000 after purchasing an additional 434,118 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 19,176,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,516,890,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437,602 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,179,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,050,390,000 after purchasing an additional 537,136 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,563,046 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,570,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,421,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 39.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,144,040 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,772,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309,627 shares during the last quarter. 92.69% of the stock is currently 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.