Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Raises Position in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI)

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,100 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Crown Castle were worth $1,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CCI. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Crown Castle during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 159.0% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 272 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crown Castle Stock Performance

Shares of CCI stock opened at $98.79 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $106.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.09. Crown Castle Inc. has a 52 week low of $92.48 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.93 billion, a PE ratio of 35.03 and a beta of 0.86.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($1.03). The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Crown Castle Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.565 dividend. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is 221.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Crown Castle from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on Crown Castle from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Crown Castle from $127.00 to $123.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $116.53.

Crown Castle Profile

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.