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Crown Castle (CCI) Rises But Trails Market: What Investors Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Crown Castle (CCI - Free Report) closed at $107.97, marking a +0.26% move from the previous day. The stock's change was less than the S&P 500's daily gain of 2.11%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 1.18%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 2.96%.

Shares of the operator of wireless communications towers have appreciated by 2.02% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Finance sector's gain of 3.61% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.08%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Crown Castle in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.71, signifying a 10.47% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $1.63 billion, showing an 8.14% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.94 per share and revenue of $6.6 billion, which would represent changes of -8.08% and -5.43%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Crown Castle. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.22% decrease. Crown Castle is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Crown Castle has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.51 right now. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 10.91.

One should further note that CCI currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.72. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry stood at 2.52 at the close of the market yesterday.

The REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry is part of the Finance sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 105, finds itself in the top 42% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.


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