Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. Takes Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired 14,700 shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI), valued at approximately $1,538,000, during the first quarter, making it the firm's 29th largest position.
• Crown Castle's recent earnings report showed a slight earnings per share beat at $1.02, despite a 4.2% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company's dividend payout has decreased, with its recent quarterly dividend yielding 4.0% and a reported dividend payout ratio of -39.83%.

Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,538,000. Crown Castle makes up approximately 1.1% of Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Crown Castle by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 204,237 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,537,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 4,276 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle in the first quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 1st quarter valued at about $307,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CCI shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Crown Castle from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $105.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.18.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of CCI traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $107.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,977,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,264,441. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52-week low of $84.20 and a 52-week high of $120.92. The firm has a market cap of $46.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.89. The business's fifty day moving average is $102.78 and its 200 day moving average is $99.36.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -39.83%.

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.