Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Acquires Shares of 201,617 Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management acquired 201,617 Crown Castle shares worth approximately $15.3 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors now own 90.77% of the REIT.
• Crown Castle reported quarterly EPS of $0.22, missing the $0.39 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.01 billion and declined 4.9% year over year. Shares opened at $76.25, near the lower end of their 12-month range.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625, or $4.25 annualized, representing a 5.6% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $95.13.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 201,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $15,268,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter worth approximately $3,326,154,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $594,670,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 124.2% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,635,117 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,034,013,000 after acquiring an additional 6,445,237 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $429,341,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in Crown Castle by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 39,790,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,536,214,000 after acquiring an additional 3,953,685 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CCI stock opened at $76.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.95. Crown Castle Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.72 and a 12 month high of $102.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.98.

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

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CCI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Crown Castle in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Crown Castle from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Citizens Jmp lowered their target price on Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Crown Castle from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $95.13.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In other Crown Castle news, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.89, for a total value 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Profile

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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