Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Hold Rating

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. New Street Research raised shares of Crown Castle from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citizens Jmp raised shares of Crown Castle to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Crown Castle from $121.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Crown Castle from $99.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.41.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE:CCI opened at $100.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Crown Castle has a 1-year low of $84.20 and a 1-year high of $120.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $101.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.71. The stock has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61 and a beta of 0.93.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Crown Castle will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In other Crown Castle news, CEO Daniel K. Schlanger sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.38, for a total transaction of $2,127,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 110,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,762,542.98. This trade represents a 15.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $850,960.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,183,563.36. The trade was a 28.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Crown Castle by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently 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.