Crown Castle Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) experienced a massive surge in options trading, with 162,524 call options traded, marking an 8,666% increase over the average daily volume.
• The firm reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.02, exceeding analysts' expectations, but saw a 4.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• Crown Castle recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share, with a 4.4% dividend yield, and has a positive outlook with analysts setting a consensus price target of $116.41.

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 162,524 call options on the company. This is an increase of 8,666% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,854 call options.

Crown Castle Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE CCI traded up $0.18 on Friday, hitting $95.76. 1,248,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,300,484. Crown Castle has a 1-year low of $84.20 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The company has a market cap of $41.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $102.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.37.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a negative net margin of 85.54% and a negative return on equity of 619.62%. Crown Castle's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. Crown Castle has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.140-4.250 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Crown Castle will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be 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 is Monday, September 15th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -39.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCI has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $125.00 in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $124.00 price target (up from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.41.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown Castle

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 64,672 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,869,000 after purchasing an additional 2,396 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,345 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Crown Castle by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 206,187 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,702,000 after purchasing an additional 49,687 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 114.3% during the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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