UBS Group Raises Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Price Target to $118.00

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) had its price target raised by UBS Group from $103.00 to $118.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

CCI has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Crown Castle from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.47.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE:CCI opened at $112.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.12. The stock has a market cap of $48.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.12 and a beta of 0.85. Crown Castle has a twelve month low of $84.72 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a net margin of 17.98% and a return on equity of 19.20%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Crown Castle will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is 195.63%.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In related news, COO Michael Joseph Kavanagh sold 10,883 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.72, for a total transaction of $1,128,784.76. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,792,172.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 159.0% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Crown Castle by 163.9% in the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

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.