Gold prices steady ahead of Fed decision; weekly weakness noted
Investing.com - JMP Securities maintained its Market Outperform rating and $125.00 price target on Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI), currently trading at $109.73, in a research note released Thursday. According to InvestingPro data, the stock appears slightly overvalued at current levels, with technical indicators suggesting overbought conditions.
The firm believes Crown Castle is positioned to begin recovery following a 30% dividend cut in the previous quarter. Despite the reduction, InvestingPro data shows the stock still offers a 3.87% dividend yield. The dividend reduction was partially offset by a $6.0 billion share repurchase program that concluded what JMP described as one of the longest restructuring processes it has evaluated.
JMP noted that tower stocks, including Crown Castle, have historically underperformed the S&P 500 by double-digit rates over the past 2, 3, 5, and 10 years, with Crown Castle leading the downward trend.
The rate of underperformance has improved over the past year and turned positive year-to-date, according to the research note. JMP expects this outperformance to continue, citing reduced investor expectations for organic growth recovery combined with slight improvements in that metric.
The $125 price target implies approximately 25 times Crown Castle’s estimated 2026 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO).
In other recent news, Crown Castle reported second-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations. The company posted earnings per share of $0.67, significantly above the analyst estimate of $0.48. Revenue for the quarter reached $1.08 billion, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. This strong performance was attributed to a 4.7% organic growth in site rental billings, excluding the impact of Sprint cancellations. Additionally, Crown Castle raised its full-year outlook, reflecting confidence in continued growth. These developments highlight the company’s improved operational efficiency and increased leasing activity. The recent earnings report has attracted attention from investors and analysts alike.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.