American Tower (AMT) Competitors

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) and Equinix (NASDAQ:EQIX) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Does the media prefer AMT or EQIX?

In the previous week, Equinix had 5 more articles in the media than American Tower. MarketBeat recorded 37 mentions for Equinix and 32 mentions for American Tower. American Tower's average media sentiment score of 1.49 beat Equinix's score of 1.16 indicating that American Tower is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
American Tower	29 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Equinix	26 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, AMT or EQIX?

American Tower has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Equinix has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in AMT or EQIX?

92.7% of American Tower shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Equinix shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of American Tower shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Equinix shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, AMT or EQIX?

American Tower has higher revenue and earnings than Equinix. Equinix is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Tower, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Tower	$10.13B	9.70	$2.26B	$2.75	76.28
Equinix	$8.75B	8.64	$815M	$10.21	75.63

Do analysts prefer AMT or EQIX?

American Tower presently has a consensus price target of $244.73, indicating a potential upside of 16.66%. Equinix has a consensus price target of $962.52, indicating a potential upside of 24.65%. Given Equinix's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Equinix is more favorable than American Tower.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Tower	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.94
Equinix	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	19 Buy rating(s)	5 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is AMT or EQIX more profitable?

American Tower has a net margin of 12.60% compared to Equinix's net margin of 11.11%. American Tower's return on equity of 24.85% beat Equinix's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Tower	12.60%	24.85%	4.01%
Equinix	11.11%	7.22%	2.73%

Is AMT or EQIX a better dividend stock?

American Tower pays an annual dividend of $6.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Equinix pays an annual dividend of $18.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Tower pays out 247.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Equinix pays out 183.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. American Tower has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Equinix has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Summary

Equinix beats American Tower on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.