Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Key Points

• Crown Castle reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.12, exceeding expectations by $0.08, despite a negative return on equity of 619.62% and a net margin of 85.54%.
• The company's stock saw a slight decline of 1.0%, closing at $97.66, with a notable market capitalization of $42.53 billion and a 52-week range between $84.20 and $115.76.
• Crown Castle announced a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.4%, with the dividend payout ratio currently at -39.83%.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 619.62% and a negative net margin of 85.54%.

Crown Castle Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of CCI stock traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $97.66. 2,619,456 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,251,811. The firm has a market cap of $42.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.57. Crown Castle has a fifty-two week low of $84.20 and a fifty-two week high of $115.76.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently -39.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Crown Castle from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Crown Castle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $113.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter valued at $131,000. Sandler Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth about $205,000. Lantern Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth about $257,000. ICONIQ Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Crown Castle by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 3,352 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $478,000. 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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