Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Announces Earnings Results

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.92), Yahoo Finance reports. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 20.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. Crown Castle updated its FY24 guidance to $6.85-$6.97 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 6.850-6.970 EPS.

Crown Castle Price Performance

CCI opened at $94.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $105.15 and a 200 day moving average of $105.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.40. Crown Castle has a fifty-two week low of $84.72 and a fifty-two week high of $134.09.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.63%. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is currently 195.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $133.00 to $118.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown Castle

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 214.1% during the fourth quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

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.