American Tower (AMT) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: Here's Why

American Tower (AMT) closed the most recent trading day at $172.92, moving -1.76% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.46%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.45%.

Heading into today, shares of the wireless communications infrastructure company had gained 0.44% over the past month, outpacing the Finance sector's loss of 0% and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 2%.

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 $2.82, up 1.44% from the prior-year quarter. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $2.77 billion, reflecting a 2.06% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $11.07 per share and revenue of $11.04 billion, which would represent changes of +2.88% and +3.68%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for American Tower. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.2% higher within the past month. Right now, American Tower possesses a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

With respect to valuation, American Tower is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 15.9. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 12.72.

It is also worth noting that AMT currently has a PEG ratio of 2.76. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.43 as of yesterday's close.

The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 88, finds itself in the top 36% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow AMT in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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