Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 2,470 Shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,470 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Crown Castle were worth $3,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 159.0% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in shares of Crown Castle by 107.9% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CCI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Crown Castle from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $103.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup set a $128.00 target price on Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $116.87.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

NYSE:CCI opened at $103.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $112.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.53. The company has a market cap of $45.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.81 and a beta of 0.86. Crown Castle Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.48 and a twelve month high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a net margin of 18.59% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is presently 221.99%.

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.