Short Interest in American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) Drops By 12.3%

American Tower Co. (NYSE:AMT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 29th, there was short interest totalling 5,120,000 shares, a decline of 12.3% from the February 14th total of 5,840,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

American Tower Price Performance

American Tower stock traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $195.91. 1,828,621 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,359,985. The company’s fifty day moving average is $198.11 and its 200-day moving average is $191.45. The firm has a market cap of $91.36 billion, a PE ratio of 61.61, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.68. American Tower has a 52 week low of $154.58 and a 52 week high of $219.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.29, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

American Tower (NYSE:AMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($1.16). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.74 billion. American Tower had a return on equity of 12.80% and a net margin of 13.31%. American Tower’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that American Tower will post 9.92 EPS for the current year.

American Tower Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Tower’s payout ratio is 213.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of American Tower from $235.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of American Tower from $236.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of American Tower in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Tower from $224.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Tower from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Tower news, Director Pamela D. A. Reeve sold 5,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.46, for a total value of $962,584.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,545 shares in the company, valued at $3,532,080.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rodney M. Smith sold 11,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.71, for a total transaction of $2,367,722.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,969 shares in the company, valued at $12,953,352.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Tower

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of American Tower during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.29% 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.