Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Coverage Initiated at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Crown Castle with an Outperform rating and a $102 price target, implying about a 13.5% upside from the current price.
• The stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $100.13, but several firms have recently cut targets and ratings—analyst views range from Strong Buy to Sell.
• Shares traded around $89.88 (market cap ~$39.2B) with a P/E of ~89 and a 52-week range of $77.01–$115.76, and company insiders have recently sold shares, reducing their positions.

Research analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $102.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's target price indicates a potential upside of 13.48% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. HSBC lowered their target price on Crown Castle from $107.00 to $88.40 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $106.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $105.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $100.13.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CCI traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $89.88. 81,116 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,531,513. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.54. The company has a market cap of $39.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.99, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.96. Crown Castle has a 52 week low of $77.01 and a 52 week high of $115.76.

Insider Activity at Crown Castle

In related news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $262,470.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $507,442. The trade was a 34.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $401,481.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,174,300.22. The trade was a 15.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 74.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 281 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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