First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $1.54 Million Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,671 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 164.0% during the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 126.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crown Castle Price Performance

Shares of CCI traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $96.66. 1,085,397 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,763,911. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $98.46 and a 200 day moving average of $104.28. Crown Castle Inc. has a one year low of $84.72 and a one year high of $119.50.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.92). The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during 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 21.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.48%. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is 195.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CCI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Crown Castle from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Crown Castle from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Argus downgraded shares of Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Bank of America dropped 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 report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.53.

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.