Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Upgraded to "Hold" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Crown Castle has been upgraded to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, previously rated as a "sell."
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Crown Castle, with a consensus target price of $115.94 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insider selling activity was notable, with CEO Daniel K. Schlanger selling 20,000 shares, representing a 15.32% decrease in his ownership.

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

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CCI. Scotiabank increased their target price on Crown Castle from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $124.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $113.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.94.

Crown Castle Trading Down 2.0%

CCI stock traded down $2.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $111.60. The company had a trading volume of 3,419,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,744,282. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $102.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.48. The company has a market cap of $48.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.88. Crown Castle has a fifty-two week low of $84.20 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 619.62% and a negative net margin of 85.54%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Crown Castle will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total value of $384,192.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,465 shares in the company, valued at $689,944.80. This trade represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The sale 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 the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,183,563.36. This trade represents a 28.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown Castle

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company's stock.

About Crown Castle

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.