Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $117.00.

Several analysts have commented on CCI shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Crown Castle from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup set a $128.00 target price on Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of CCI stock opened at $91.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. Crown Castle has a 12-month low of $89.49 and a 12-month high of $120.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $102.96 and a 200-day moving average of $106.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32 and a beta of 0.86.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($1.03). The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Crown Castle will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 221.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 107.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 159.0% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the third quarter valued at $47,000. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.