Nuveen LLC Makes New Investment in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a significant stake in Crown Castle Inc., purchasing 2,934,622 shares valued at approximately $305.9 million, representing about 0.67% ownership of the company.
• Crown Castle recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0625 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 4.1%.
• Analyst ratings for Crown Castle have improved, with New Street Research upgrading its rating to "strong-buy" and several analysts increasing target prices, indicating positive market sentiment.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,934,622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $305,876,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.67% of Crown Castle as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Crown Castle by 210.3% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,961 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 4,040 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth $2,442,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 25,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 9,216 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at about $531,000. Finally, TT Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle in the fourth quarter worth about $2,881,000. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company's stock.

Crown Castle Price Performance

CCI stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $101.08. 2,249,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,247,423. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $84.20 and a one year high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $103.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.04.

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 EPS 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 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $1.0625 dividend. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is currently -39.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CCI has been the topic of several analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Crown Castle from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $124.00 price objective (up from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.24.

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.