Short Interest in Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) Grows By 16.3%

Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE:CCI) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,070,000 shares, a growth of 16.3% from the February 13th total of 6,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $116.00 to $96.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James upgraded Crown Castle from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Crown Castle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $102.00 to $99.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Crown Castle has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.00.

Crown Castle Trading Up 0.4 %

CCI traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $104.76. 2,248,428 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,603,865. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.12 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $91.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. Crown Castle has a 1-year low of $84.20 and a 1-year high of $120.92.

Crown Castle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.565 per share. This represents a $6.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Crown Castle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -69.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Crown Castle during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Crown Castle by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crown Castle in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Investors Research Corp lifted its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 57.2% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Crown Castle Company 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.