Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 31,319 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 157,895 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 31,319 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $17,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 159.0% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 163.9% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 285 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted 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 acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup set a $128.00 price target on Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price target on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Crown Castle from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.87.

Crown Castle Trading Down 4.8 %

NYSE CCI traded down $5.24 on Wednesday, hitting $103.46. 3,666,126 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,619,944. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.48 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50-day moving average price is $113.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $106.09.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

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.