Macquarie Reaffirms Buy Rating for Crown Castle International Corporation (NYSE:CCI)

Macquarie reiterated their buy rating on shares of Crown Castle International Corporation (NYSE:CCI) in a report issued on Wednesday morning. The firm currently has a $107.00 target price on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

“We remain constructive on Crown’s long-term position to capitalize on the growth of small cells and a fiber footprint that will span 60k+ miles. Upcoming network investments and a focus on densification bode well for Crown, particularly with buildouts slated for ‘18/’19. However, much of the growth will be long-tailed and fiber portfolios carry different profiles. In addition, leverage of 5.9x is above its 4-5x target leaving little room for financial flexibility. Our target goes slightly lower to US$107 based on 20x ‘18E AFFO/sh to reflect revised Wilcon estimates now in guidance. Impact The US$7.1bn Lightower deal doubles Crown’s fiber footprint in top metro markets. With 32k+ miles of fiber in top cities including Boston, NYC, and Philadelphia as well as minimal overlap with Crown’s current footprint, the combined company will own/have rights to 60k+ miles of fiber. Crown’s fiber footprint will cover the top 10 markets and 23 out of the top 25 metro markets. This all-cash deal values Lightower at 13.5x adj. EBITDA (vs. Sunesys at ~16x and CCI currently trading at ~20x) and should close by year-end ’17. Within its first full year of operation, Lightower is projected to contribute: 1) US$850- 870m in site rental revenues; 2) US$163-213m in net income; 3) US$510-530m in adj. EBITDA; and 4) US$465-485m in AFFO before financing costs. Management also expects to increase the dividend by US$0.15-0.20/sh p.a; our US$107 target implies a ~4% yield with the proposed increase. The long-term dividend growth target is now 7-8% from 6-7% previously.”,” the firm’s analyst wrote.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim upgraded Crown Castle International Corporation from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial, Inc. restated a market perform rating on shares of Crown Castle International Corporation in a research note on Monday, June 12th. Citigroup Inc. lowered Crown Castle International Corporation to a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, June 12th. Barclays PLC lowered their price objective on Crown Castle International Corporation from $101.00 to $95.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC restated a buy rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Crown Castle International Corporation in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $105.19.

Shares of Crown Castle International Corporation (NYSE:CCI) opened at 99.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.36. The company has a market capitalization of $36.31 billion, a PE ratio of 84.83 and a beta of 0.20. Crown Castle International Corporation has a 12 month low of $79.38 and a 12 month high of $104.68.

Crown Castle International Corporation (NYSE:CCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 19th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. Crown Castle International Corporation had a return on equity of 6.21% and a net margin of 11.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Crown Castle International Corporation will post $1.24 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 16th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 14th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Crown Castle International Corporation’s payout ratio is 304.00%.

In related news, Director Robert F. Mckenzie sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.48, for a total transaction of $144,720.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,953 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,793,385.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO James D. Young sold 24,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.50, for a total value of $2,402,985.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 140,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,650,585. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle International Corporation by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 146,442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,708,000 after buying an additional 11,875 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle International Corporation by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 1,805,537 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $156,666,000 after buying an additional 400,180 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle International Corporation during the fourth quarter worth $2,271,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Crown Castle International Corporation during the fourth quarter worth $1,013,000. Finally, Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Crown Castle International Corporation by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 3,619,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $314,053,000 after buying an additional 173,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.30% of the company’s stock.

About Crown Castle International Corporation

Castle International Corp. (CCIC) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) company. The Company owns, operates and leases shared wireless infrastructure, including towers and other structures, such as rooftops (towers), and to a lesser extent, distributed antenna systems (DAS), a type of small cell network (small cells), and interests in land under third party towers in various forms (third party land interests).