Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Hits New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $91.86 and last traded at $92.35, with a volume of 234508 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $92.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CCI. TD Cowen lowered their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $105.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $117.00.

Crown Castle Trading Down 2.3 %

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 cap of $39.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $105.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. Crown Castle's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is currently 221.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown Castle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 24.7% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 157,895 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $17,476,000 after acquiring an additional 31,319 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,088,017 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $603,592,000 after purchasing an additional 203,442 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Business Bank bought a new position in Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter worth about $620,000. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 3,111.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 13,328 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,581,000 after buying an additional 12,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 3.7% during 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 buying an additional 747,390 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

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.