Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,320,000 shares, a drop of 9.7% from the September 30th total of 5,890,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Crown Castle Trading Down 0.3 %

Crown Castle stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $107.50. 1,702,685 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,624,168. Crown Castle has a fifty-two week low of $90.81 and a fifty-two week high of $120.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.12 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $113.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($1.03). Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. Crown Castle’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Crown Castle will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is currently 221.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on CCI shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.80.

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.