Dark Forest Capital Management LP Boosts Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. $CCI

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP has increased its holdings in Crown Castle Inc. by 36.3%, owning a total of 45,309 shares valued at approximately $4.7 million.
• Crown Castle's quarterly earnings report revealed a positive earnings per share of $1.02, surpassing analyst expectations, despite a 4.2% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) by 36.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,309 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 12,063 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Crown Castle were worth $4,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 9.0% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 13.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 35,031 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,665,000 after acquiring an additional 4,276 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter worth approximately $262,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the first quarter worth approximately $307,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 25.0% during the first quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 20,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CCI. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $121.00 to $119.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $125.00 in a report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets raised Crown Castle from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Crown Castle from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $116.41.

Crown Castle Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:CCI traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.92. 5,239,376 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,086,569. The stock has a market cap of $41.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.99, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $103.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.28. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.20 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 619.62% and a negative net margin of 85.54%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Crown Castle has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.140-4.250 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -39.83%.

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.