Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $125.00 price objective on the real estate investment trust's stock, up from their prior price objective of $105.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.01% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CCI. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.94.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCI traded down $2.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $111.60. 3,419,991 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,744,282. Crown Castle has a 12 month low of $84.20 and a 12 month high of $120.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.19 and a 200-day moving average of $98.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.88.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 619.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Crown Castle's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Crown Castle will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown Castle

In other news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $384,192.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,465 shares in the company, valued at $689,944.80. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $850,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,183,563.36. This trade represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CCI. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

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.