In the latest trading session, American Tower (AMT) closed at $189.31, marking a -1.66% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.75%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 1.86%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 2.54%.
Coming into today, shares of the wireless communications infrastructure company had gained 10.72% in the past month. In that same time, the Finance sector gained 0.12%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.63%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of American Tower in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.69, up 3.46% from the prior-year quarter. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $2.71 billion, showing a 3.09% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $10.95 per share and a revenue of $10.91 billion, signifying shifts of +1.77% and +2.53%, respectively, from the last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for American Tower. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Right now, American Tower possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
From a valuation perspective, American Tower is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 17.59. This represents a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 13.35.
It's also important to note that AMT currently trades at a PEG ratio of 0.78. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The REIT and Equity Trust - Other was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.41 at yesterday's closing price.
The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, positioning it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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American Tower Corporation (AMT): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).