Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for American Tower (NYSE:AMT) Stock Price

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $215.00 to $195.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.15% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of American Tower from $255.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of American Tower from $221.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of American Tower from $260.00 to $234.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price target on American Tower from $251.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.75.

American Tower Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE AMT traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $183.71. 49,154 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,382,885. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.29. American Tower has a 52 week low of $170.46 and a 52 week high of $243.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $85.84 billion, a PE ratio of 77.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.84.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by ($1.56). The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. American Tower had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 22.01%. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that American Tower will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at American Tower

In other news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 16,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.10, for a total transaction of $3,000,283.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 62,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,371,631.20. This trade represents a 20.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Tower by 269.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 107 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Tower in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in American Tower during the third quarter worth $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in American Tower in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of American Tower by 431.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. 92.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Tower Company Profile

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.