Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Royal Bank Of Canada Analyst Says

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target for Crown Castle's stock from $112.00 to $113.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.96% from its previous close.
• Other brokerages, including Raymond James and Barclays, have also boosted their price targets, with Raymond James setting a target of $124.00 and Barclays at $121.00.
• Crown Castle's latest quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.02, surpassing expectations, although the company experienced a 4.2% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $112.00 to $113.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

CCI has been the subject of several other research reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, May 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $124.00 price target (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Crown Castle in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $116.24.

Crown Castle Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE CCI traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $104.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,964,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,288,791. Crown Castle has a 52 week low of $84.20 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a PE ratio of -9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.89. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $103.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $99.83.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Crown Castle will post 6.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.0625 per share. This represents a $4.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Crown Castle's dividend payout ratio is currently -39.83%.

Institutional Trading of Crown Castle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 204,237 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,537,000 after purchasing an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 13.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the first quarter worth $262,000. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the first quarter worth $307,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.