Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires Shares of 64,586 Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 64,586 Crown Castle shares worth approximately $4.89 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 90.77% of CCI’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.13, although several firms recently lowered targets or maintained “Hold” ratings.
• Crown Castle’s shares opened at $76.25, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.22—below the $0.39 consensus estimate—and declared a $1.0625 quarterly dividend, representing a 5.6% yield.

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 64,586 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $4,891,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the second quarter valued at about $2,678,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,271,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $629,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CCI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Crown Castle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $88.00 to $82.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Crown Castle from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.13.

Crown Castle Trading Down 0.2%

CCI stock opened at $76.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.98. The company has a market capitalization of $32.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.95. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.72 and a twelve month high of $102.19.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.05 million. Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.71% and a negative return on equity of 51.60%. The company's revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Crown Castle has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.530-4.650 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Crown Castle Inc. will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is presently 215.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.89, for a total transaction of $113,835.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 5,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $388,025.57. This trade represents a 22.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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