Wells Fargo & Company Downgrades Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) to Underweight

Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has $100.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock, down from their prior price target of $105.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup set a $128.00 price target on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, 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 report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.53.

Crown Castle Trading Down 1.4 %

Crown Castle stock traded down $1.44 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $100.56. 3,212,164 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,614,906. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $107.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.19 and a beta of 0.86. Crown Castle has a fifty-two week low of $92.48 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Crown Castle will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 221.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 107.9% in the third 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. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by 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.