Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Short Interest Down 55.1% in September

Key Points

• Crown Castle Inc. experienced a significant decrease in short interest, dropping 55.1% in September to a total of 4,760,000 shares.
• Numerous brokerages have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.44.
• The company reported $1.02 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations, but showed a 4.2% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 4,760,000 shares, a drop of 55.1% from the September 15th total of 10,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,390,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CCI. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Crown Castle from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research upgraded Crown Castle from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $114.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, September 22nd. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.44.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CCI traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $98.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,378,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,262,213. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $97.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.59. The firm has a market cap of $43.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.95. Crown Castle has a fifty-two week low of $84.20 and a fifty-two week high of $115.76.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.02. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 619.62% and a negative net margin of 85.54%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Crown Castle has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.140-4.250 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Crown Castle will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $1.0625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Crown Castle's payout ratio is -39.83%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Crown Castle by 9.0% in the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Crown Castle by 10.2% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 55,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,707,000 after acquiring an additional 5,144 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Crown Castle by 13.9% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 35,031 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,665,000 after acquiring an additional 4,276 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the first quarter valued at about $262,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its stake in Crown Castle by 25.0% in the first quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 20,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crown Castle Company Profile

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.

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