Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI – Get Free Report) traded down 3.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $113.80 and last traded at $115.38. 1,370,969 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 48% from the average session volume of 2,630,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $119.11.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Crown Castle from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $126.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.40.
Crown Castle Stock Down 3.0 %
The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.04. The firm has a market cap of $50.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.23 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $113.37 and a 200 day moving average of $104.35.
Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 19.20%. Crown Castle’s quarterly revenue was down 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.
Crown Castle Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 195.63%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, COO Michael Joseph Kavanagh sold 10,883 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.72, for a total value of $1,128,784.76. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,792,172.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Crown Castle by 2.4% in the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 0.5% in the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 19,439 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,899,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 12.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,259 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.