Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $112.71.

CCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crown Castle from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Crown Castle from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Argus raised Crown Castle to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st.

Crown Castle Trading Up 0.5%

Crown Castle stock opened at $99.97 on Friday. Crown Castle has a one year low of $84.20 and a one year high of $120.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.94 and its 200 day moving average is $96.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.53 billion, a PE ratio of 35.45 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. Crown Castle’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Crown Castle will post 6.67 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -39.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total value of $384,192.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $689,944.80. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total transaction of $2,127,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 110,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,762,542.98. This trade represents a 15.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,362,752 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown Castle

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCI. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the first quarter worth $26,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter worth $27,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service – bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them.