Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Crown Castle has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 20 brokerages, with an average 12-month price target of about $98.52.
• The stock recently traded at $79.24, up 0.7%, while its latest earnings beat expectations with $1.02 EPS versus the $0.47 estimate and revenue of $1.01 billion.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $1.0625, equal to an annualized yield of about 5.4%, though the payout ratio is high at 175.62%.

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $98.5222.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Truist Financial started coverage on Crown Castle in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Crown Castle from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Crown Castle in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company.

Crown Castle Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Crown Castle stock opened at $79.24 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $85.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.18. Crown Castle has a 12-month low of $73.75 and a 12-month high of $115.76. The firm has a market cap of $34.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.95.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.41 million. Crown Castle had a net margin of 25.13% and a negative return on equity of 64.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Crown Castle has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.380-4.490 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Crown Castle will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is 175.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,444 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Crown Castle by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 87,611 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,000,000 after acquiring an additional 5,630 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,655 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 10,913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 3,603 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 5.6% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 4,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Company Profile

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company's assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.

Its product and service offerings include ground-based tower sites that host multiple wireless operators, distributed small cell nodes and associated fiber backhaul used to connect sites into carrier networks, and site development and maintenance services.

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