Wolfe Research Downgrades Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) to Hold

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wolfe Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CCI. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Crown Castle from $107.00 to $88.40 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Crown Castle from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Crown Castle from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Crown Castle from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.61.

Crown Castle Trading Up 3.4%

CCI opened at $81.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.21, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.96. Crown Castle has a 12-month low of $77.01 and a 12-month high of $115.76. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle in the second quarter worth about $27,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Crown Castle by 74.5% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 281 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Crown Castle during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Crown Castle during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Key Crown Castle News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat estimates — Crown Castle topped AFFO/FFO and revenue consensus (FFO $1.12 vs. $1.07 estimate) and flagged stronger services revenue growth, which supports near‑term cash flow expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings and revenue surprises reinforced by multiple outlets reporting beats — these beats likely underpin buying interest and justify the stock strength despite other headwinds. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary and investor presentation are available (earnings call transcript & slides); investors should review guidance details and management’s outlook for EBITDA, capital allocation and DISH exposure to assess longer‑term impact. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Banks and analysts broadly trimmed price targets this week (examples: Citi to $106 from $110, Goldman to $95 from $105, HSBC to $88.40 from $107, BMO to $91), and several firms moved ratings toward neutral/hold — these cuts signal reduced near‑term upside in street models and are pressuring sentiment. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Management issued softer EBITDA guidance and announced job cuts; media noted the stock dipped on that news — weaker guidance increases execution risk and could limit multiple expansion. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: External tenant risk remains (reports discuss DISH-related uncertainty/default risk affecting tower demand), a macro/regulatory or tenant‑specific shock could weigh on occupancy and cash flow. Article Title

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.