KeyCorp Has Lowered Expectations for Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) Stock Price

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at KeyCorp from $115.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price indicates a potential upside of 20.87% from the stock’s current price.

CCI has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Crown Castle in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $112.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Crown Castle from $124.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Crown Castle from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.25.

Crown Castle Trading Down 5.8%

CCI stock traded down $5.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,977,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,190,245. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.92 and its 200-day moving average is $94.22. Crown Castle has a 12 month low of $78.26 and a 12 month high of $115.76. The company has a market cap of $35.31 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.96.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,769,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,200,406,000 after acquiring an additional 386,733 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,728,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,096,587,000 after purchasing an additional 266,963 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Crown Castle by 33.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,437,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $621,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605,291 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 3.0% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,185,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $596,876,000 after purchasing an additional 177,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter valued at $629,431,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Crown Castle

Here are the key news stories impacting Crown Castle this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS, revenue and FFO topped expectations — reported EPS $1.12 vs. $1.07 est., revenue ~$1.07B vs. $1.06B est., and FFO $1.12 vs. $1.07 est., showing the quarter outperformed consensus. Crown Castle earnings beat by $0.12, revenue topped estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management provided FY‑2026 EPS/AFFO guidance that implies stability in per‑share cash flow (AFFO per share midpoint $4.43, AFFO growth ~2%) and an EPS range above some street estimates — a sign management expects earnings per share resilience despite topline pressure. Crown Castle Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results and Provides Outlook for Full Year 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity: Jefferies trimmed its price target (from $90 to $84) but kept a Buy rating — reflects mixed analyst reaction (lower target but continued support). Jefferies lowers price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings commentary and slide deck are available (management discussed strategy, capital allocation and the “tower-first” focus) — useful for investors who want detail on assumptions behind the outlook. Earnings call transcript Earnings presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance shows lower site rental revenue and adjusted EBITDA for FY‑2026 (site rental revenues ~‑5%, Adjusted EBITDA ~‑6% vs. 2025), creating concern about near‑term operating leverage and growth. That guidance is the primary driver of the share weakness. Full year outlook details
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and headlines point to downside risks: analysts and market reports flagged weak FY26 EBITDA guidance and the company announced job cuts; shares fell in extended trading after the report. Shares slide after weak FY26 guidance Job cuts reported
• Negative Sentiment: Tenant credit risk: coverage highlighted the looming DISH financing/default risk as a potential overhang for tower landlords, increasing uncertainty about future site rental cash flows. DISH default risk article

About Crown Castle

Crown Castle is a U.S.-focused communications infrastructure company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure. Its primary business consists of providing tower-based site leases, small cell networks and fiber solutions that support mobile voice and data transmission for wireless carriers, cable companies and other enterprise customers. The company’s assets are positioned to enable network coverage and capacity, including the densification projects associated with 4G LTE and 5G deployments.

Its product and service offerings include ground-based tower sites that host multiple wireless operators, distributed small cell nodes and associated fiber backhaul used to connect sites into carrier networks, and site development and maintenance services.