Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $118.93.

CCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Crown Castle from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Crown Castle from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $110.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of CCI traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $96.71. 2,690,154 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,485,346. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.73. Crown Castle has a fifty-two week low of $84.72 and a fifty-two week high of $134.50.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 180.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown Castle

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCI. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 108.5% in the third quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Crown Castle during the second quarter worth $27,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in Crown Castle in the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at $29,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.