Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI)

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 4,539 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 120% compared to the average daily volume of 2,059 call options.

Crown Castle Stock Up 14.1%

NYSE CCI traded up $9.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.63. The stock had a trading volume of 5,203,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,626,225. Crown Castle has a 52-week low of $65.32 and a 52-week high of $100.50. The company has a market cap of $33.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.56.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.05 million. Crown Castle had a negative return on equity of 51.60% and a net margin of 20.71%.Crown Castle’s quarterly revenue was down 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Crown Castle has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.530-4.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Crown Castle will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $1.0625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $4.25 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.4%. Crown Castle’s payout ratio is currently 215.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CCI shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $85.00 target price on Crown Castle in a research note on Monday, September 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Crown Castle in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Crown Castle from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Citizens Jmp cut their price objective on Crown Castle from $125.00 to $120.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown Castle

In other news, VP Robert Collins sold 1,500 shares of Crown Castle stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.89, for a total value of $113,835.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 5,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $388,025.57. The trade was a 22.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown Castle

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of Crown Castle by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 39,790,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,536,214,000 after purchasing an additional 3,953,685 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the second quarter worth $3,326,154,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Crown Castle by 0.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,023,394 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,743,562,000 after buying an additional 211,633 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 15.7% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,463,182 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,094,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 2.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,325,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $514,320,000 after acquiring an additional 144,538 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Castle Company Profile

Crown Castle Inc (NYSE: CCI) is a communications infrastructure company that owns, operates and leases wireless communications assets in the United States. Its infrastructure helps wireless carriers, government agencies and other customers expand network coverage and capacity for voice, data and other wireless services.

The company’s portfolio includes cell towers and fiber-based infrastructure. Crown Castle provides space on its towers for wireless equipment and offers fiber solutions that support small-cell networks, distributed antenna systems and other high-capacity communications applications.