Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Stock

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) had its price target hoisted by Citigroup from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 4.42% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Crown Castle from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $122.00 in a report on Friday. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays raised shares of Crown Castle from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson cut their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crown Castle has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.12.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Crown Castle stock traded up $9.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $103.42. 6,056,617 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,561,911. The company’s fifty day moving average is $90.74 and its 200-day moving average is $101.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $44.95 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69 and a beta of 0.89. Crown Castle has a 52 week low of $84.20 and a 52 week high of $120.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter valued at $561,714,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,499,455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,672,451,000 after purchasing an additional 5,934,615 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,528,597 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,079,417,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371,186 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 433.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,968,959 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $470,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Crown Castle by 37.3% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 5,793,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $525,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,043 shares in the last quarter. 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.