Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Crown Castle to a "strong-buy" in its latest note, though the stock's consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $100.13 average price target.
• Several major brokers (Goldman Sachs, BMO, Wells Fargo, HSBC) recently cut price targets and issued mixed ratings while shares trade around $90, giving the company a market cap of about $39.3 billion and a high P/E of ~89.
• Company insiders recently sold shares (EVP and VP transactions), leaving insiders with only 0.10% ownership, while institutional investors hold roughly 90.77% of the stock.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

CCI has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Crown Castle from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, HSBC reduced their price objective on Crown Castle from $107.00 to $88.40 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.13.

Crown Castle Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CCI opened at $90.07 on Wednesday. Crown Castle has a 12 month low of $77.01 and a 12 month high of $115.76. The company has a market cap of $39.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.96. The business's 50 day moving average is $87.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.53.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bayban acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth about $210,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 47,585 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,576 shares during the period. 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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