Short Interest in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Decreases By 9.7%

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during 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 volume of 2,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCI traded up $1.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $107.81. 2,234,255 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,628,556. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The company has a market cap of $46.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.81 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $113.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.64. Crown Castle has a 52-week low of $90.81 and a 52-week high of $120.92.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($1.03). The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. Crown Castle’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Crown Castle will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.81%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 221.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CCI. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $112.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Citigroup set a $128.00 target price on shares of Crown Castle in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Crown Castle has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Asset Dedication LLC increased its stake in Crown Castle by 159.0% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Crown Castle by 163.9% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 285 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in Crown Castle by 107.9% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 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.