Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Crown Castle (CCI) from "hold" to "sell", even though the broader analyst consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $99.34 average price target.
• Crown Castle beat Q1 EPS ($1.02 vs. $0.47) and announced a ~$1B buyback plus ~$65M in annualized cost cuts, but revenue fell 4.9% year‑over‑year and management reiterated FY2026 guidance that includes an expected net loss of $640M–$920M amid DISH‑related leasing headwinds.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $88.40 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. New Street Research cut shares of Crown Castle from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Crown Castle from a "sell (d)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.34.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI stock opened at $86.35 on Friday. Crown Castle has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $115.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.56. The company has a market capitalization of $37.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.68, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.94.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.55. Crown Castle had a net margin of 25.13% and a negative return on equity of 64.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.42 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Crown Castle has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.380-4.490 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Crown Castle will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Crown Castle

In other news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 4,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.34, for a total transaction of $401,481.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,174,300.22. The trade was a 15.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $262,470.00. Following 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Crown Castle

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 599 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 11,021 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,931 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 4,567 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp now owns 10,966 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,058,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More Crown Castle News

Here are the key news stories impacting Crown Castle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 FFO, AFFO and revenue modestly beat estimates, showing resilience in cash flow and leasing trends despite challenges. Crown Castle (CCI) Q1 FFO and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management announced a ~ $1B buyback plan and ~$65M of annualized cost reductions, which support shareholder returns and margin improvement. Crown Castle reiterates 2026 outlook with ~$1B buyback plan
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are showing support: Bernstein reaffirmed a Buy and Raymond James raised its price target (to $108, strong‑buy), providing potential upside from upgrades. Bernstein Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Crown Castle (CCI) Raymond James adjusts Crown Castle price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Company is progressing with strategic asset sales and refocusing on the tower business—moves that could reshape growth profile but take time to realize value. How Investors May Respond To Crown Castle
• Negative Sentiment: Management reiterated FY 2026 guidance that includes an expected net loss ($640M–$920M), keeping near‑term earnings visibility weak and likely pressuring valuation multiples. How Investors May Respond To Crown Castle
• Negative Sentiment: DISH Network–related headwinds remain a material risk to tower leasing and long‑term growth, and analysts continue to flag tower‑growth concerns despite the quarter's beat. Crown Castle Q1 AFFO & Sales Beat Estimates Despite DISH Headwinds Crown Castle earnings on deck as tower growth concerns linger

About Crown Castle

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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