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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy”: Seven analysts rate Crown Castle a buy and two a strong buy, while twelve recommend holding the stock. The average 12-month price target is approximately $95.13.
• Shares are trading below recent averages: Crown Castle opened at $73.57, compared with 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $80.64 and $84.74, respectively. The stock has a 52-week range of $69.72 to $104.64.
• The company maintains a sizable dividend: Crown Castle declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share, equivalent to $4.25 annually and a 5.8% yield, although its payout ratio is elevated at 215.74%.

Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-one research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.1263.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Crown Castle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Crown Castle from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Crown Castle from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Crown Castle stock opened at $73.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.74. Crown Castle has a 1-year low of $69.72 and a 1-year high of $104.64. The stock has a market cap of $31.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.95.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently 215.74%.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In related news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.89, for a total transaction of $113,835.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,113 shares in the company, valued at $388,025.57. This trade represents a 22.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Crown Castle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CCI. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 375 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Crown Castle in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 128.7% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 382 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

About Crown Castle

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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