CapWealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

CapWealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 892 shares during the period. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $4,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Crown Castle during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Crown Castle by 164.0% in the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CCI stock traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, reaching $97.06. 2,082,654 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,814,544. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.72. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.72 and a 52 week high of $119.50. 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 $42.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.83.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.92). Crown Castle had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 21.30%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.62 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.45%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 195.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on CCI shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $126.00 price objective (up previously from $124.00) on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Friday, June 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $111.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $133.00 to $118.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $115.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Monday, July 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.