Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $88.49, but opened at $91.05. Crown Castle shares last traded at $91.05, with a volume of 364,459 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on CCI shares. JMP Securities began coverage on Crown Castle in a research note on Monday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. TD Cowen decreased their price target 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. Finally, Citizens Jmp upgraded Crown Castle to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $110.13.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.34. The stock has a market cap of $38.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78 and a beta of 0.87.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $1.565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.98%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 221.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake 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 buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Crown Castle in the third quarter valued at $47,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Crown Castle by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investors Research Corp increased its position in shares of Crown Castle by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.