Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $113.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CCI shares. Barclays upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $117.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday. Citigroup set a $128.00 price target on Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE CCI traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $86.65. 2,557,508 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,065,928. Crown Castle has a 52 week low of $84.20 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The business's fifty day moving average price is $98.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.89.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. Crown Castle's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Crown Castle will post 6.66 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle's payout ratio is currently 221.99%.

Institutional Trading of Crown Castle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 23.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,528,597 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,079,417,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371,186 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 433.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,968,959 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $470,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,225,460 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 191.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,032,521 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $195,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,644 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 13,271.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 973,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $115,449,000 after purchasing an additional 965,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in Crown Castle by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,875,581 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,476,470,000 after purchasing an additional 747,390 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Company Profile

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.