Crown Castle Inc. (CCI) is a leading player in the communications infrastructure sector with a market cap of $41.7 billion. Based in Houston, Texas, the company specializes in owning, operating, and leasing a vast network of cell towers and fiber optic infrastructure across the United States.
Companies valued at $10 billion or more are generally classified as “large-cap” stocks, and Crown Castle fits this criterion perfectly. Crown Castle's extensive network, comprising over 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber, supports small cell deployments and fiber solutions critical for delivering essential data and nationwide wireless connectivity.
However, Crown Castle's shares have declined nearly 19.2% from its 52-week high of $119.50, reached in December last year. Shares of CCI are down 8.4% over the past three months, underperforming the broader U.S. Digital Infrastructure And Real Estate ETF's (IDGT) 3.2% dip in the same period.
In the longer term, shares of CCI have declined 16.1% on a YTD basis, trailing behind the IDGT's 7.8% gain. Additionally, over the past 52 weeks, CCI's shares have tumbled 13.2%, compared to IDGT’s return of 2.1%.
CCI has been in a bearish trend, trading below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since March despite some fluctuations.
CCI has lagged due to sluggish demand for wireless communication equipment, sector rotation influenced by high interest rates, subdued growth prospects, and difficulty in capitalizing on new small cell antenna nodes to enhance earnings amid struggling tower performance. Still, the stock soared marginally following its better-than-expected Q1 earnings results on Apr. 17, boosted by robust site rental revenue and adjusted funds from operations, driven by the rapid deployment of 5G technology.
However, to emphasize the stock's underperformance, CCI’s rival, American Tower Corporation (AMT), has seen a 10% decline on a YTD basis and a 3.5% gain over the past 52 weeks, outperforming CCI's performances in both periods.
Despite CCI’s relative underperformance, analysts are cautiously optimistic about the stock's prospects. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the 17 analysts covering it, and it is currently trading slightly below the mean price target of $110.75.
On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal 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.
