Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $115.68, but opened at $112.00. Crown Castle shares last traded at $111.09, with a volume of 446,548 shares traded.

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 19.20% and a net margin of 17.98%. 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.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Crown Castle's payout ratio is currently 229.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CCI. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown Castle

In related news, COO Michael Joseph Kavanagh sold 10,883 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.72, for a total transaction of $1,128,784.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,792,172.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SageView Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth $743,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 66.0% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 405 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 594.6% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 15,699 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,661,000 after acquiring an additional 13,439 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the first quarter valued at about $125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Trading Down 3.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business's 50-day moving average is $114.00 and its 200 day moving average is $105.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.93 and a beta of 0.85.

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.