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Investing.com - Raymond (NSE:RYMD) James raised its price target on Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) to $124.00 from $122.00 while maintaining a Strong Buy rating following the company’s second-quarter 2025 results. The stock, which has surged over 27% in the past six months and currently trades near $110, appears slightly overvalued according to InvestingPro Fair Value metrics.
The firm cited Crown Castle’s quarterly performance that exceeded expectations, noting better fundamental U.S. Tower Leasing and improved costs. Raymond James plans to host Crown Castle’s interim CEO and CFO for an investor Q&A call on Thursday morning.
Raymond James had previously upgraded Crown Castle in March after the announcement of an $8.5 billion sale of the company’s Fiber/Small Cell business to Zayo and EQT (ST:EQTAB). This transaction transforms Crown Castle into what the firm describes as "the simplest U.S. Tower stock" with 100% of property revenues coming from U.S. Towers.
The company is currently searching for a new permanent CEO following the termination of Steven Moskowitz in March, with former CFO Dan Schlanger serving in an interim capacity. Raymond James indicated this leadership transition is important to reduce uncertainty.
Raymond James expressed a positive outlook on all three major tower stocks, describing them as non-cyclical, cash-yielding businesses with long-term secular growth potential, though it currently considers Crown Castle its favorite among the group.
In other recent news, Crown Castle reported second-quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations, driven by increased leasing activity and enhanced operational efficiency. The company posted earnings per share of $0.67, notably higher than the analyst projection of $0.48. Revenue also exceeded forecasts, reaching $1.08 billion compared to the anticipated $1.04 billion. This strong performance was attributed to a 4.7% organic growth in site rental billings, excluding Sprint cancellations. Following these results, Crown Castle raised its full-year outlook, indicating confidence in continued growth.
In addition, JMP Securities maintained its Market Outperform rating for Crown Castle, with a price target of $125.00. The firm noted that Crown Castle is positioned to recover after a 30% dividend cut in the previous quarter. This dividend reduction was partly offset by a $6.0 billion share repurchase program, marking the end of what JMP described as one of the longest restructuring processes it has evaluated.
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