Houston-based Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) is a top-tier real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on cell towers and fiber network infrastructure. With a market cap of $46 billion, Crown Castle manages an extensive portfolio of over 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber, delivering small-cell and fiber solutions across all major U.S. markets.
Shares of the leading REIT have underperformed the broader market over the past year. CCI has gained 9.5% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied nearly 36.8%. In 2024, CCI stock is down 8.1%, compared to the SPX’s 25.7% returns on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, CCI has also lagged behind the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE) over the past year. The exchange-traded fund has gained 27.1% over the past year and 9.6% in 2024.
On Oct. 16, CCI reported its Q3 earnings, and its stock closed down more than 3% due to projecting full-year adjusted EBITDA of $4.14 billion-$4.19 billion, the midpoint below the consensus of $4.17 billion. On the bright side, the company posted an AFFO of $1.84 per share, well above the consensus estimates.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect CCI to report an FFO decline of 11.9% to $6.65 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is impressive. It beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters.
Nevertheless, among the 19 analysts covering CCI stock, the consensus rating is a “Hold.” That’s based on four “Strong Buy” ratings, one “Moderate Buy,” 13 “Holds,” and one “Strong Sell.”
This configuration has been stable over the past months.
Following Crown Castle’s recent earnings report, Barclays PLC (BCS) raised the company’s price target to $117 from $116 on November 1, while maintaining an “Equal-Weight” rating.
The mean price target of $115.94 represents a 9.5% upswing from CCI’s current price levels. The Street-high price target of $128 suggests an upside potential of 20.9%.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
