Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Given New $127.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group raised Crown Castle's price target from $124.00 to $127.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.52% from its current price.
• Other analysts have also increased their targets, with BMO Capital Markets setting a target of $115.00 and Barclays raising theirs to $117.00.
• Crown Castle reported earnings of $1.02 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.00 and generating revenue of $1.06 billion.
• Insider selling was noted, with CEO Daniel K. Schlanger selling 20,000 shares at an average price of $106.38, reducing his ownership by 15.32%.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $124.00 to $127.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. UBS Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.52% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on CCI. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $105.00 to $125.00 in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.65.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCI traded down $3.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $110.90. The company had a trading volume of 765,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,219,773. The company has a market capitalization of $48.29 billion, a PE ratio of -10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.31. Crown Castle has a one year low of $84.20 and a one year high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.02. Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 300.46%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Crown Castle's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Crown Castle will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total transaction of $2,127,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,762,542.98. The trade was a 15.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $850,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,183,563.36. This represents a 28.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Crown Castle

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 3,532 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 672 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,393 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,357 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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