Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.92 EPS

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The real estate investment trust reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.92), Yahoo Finance reports. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.78% and a net margin of 20.32%. Crown Castle’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. Crown Castle updated its FY24 guidance to $6.85-$6.97 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 6.850-6.970 EPS.

Crown Castle Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE CCI opened at $94.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $105.15 and a 200 day moving average of $105.07. Crown Castle has a 1 year low of $84.72 and a 1 year high of $134.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Crown Castle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $1.565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $6.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.63%. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 195.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $126.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $133.00 to $118.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $92.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at $28,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Crown Castle during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Crown Castle by 214.1% in the fourth quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.