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Research Alert: CFRA Maintains Sell Opinion On Shares Of Crown Castle Inc.

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CFRA, an independent research provider, has providedwith the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We increase our 12-month target price by $2 to $73, applying an EV/EBITDA multiple of 25.7x to our 2026 estimate, a small premium to its one-year historical average multiple at 25.2x. CCI currently trades at 18.7x our 2026 FFO estimate vs. 18.3x its three-year forward average as overall growth has slowed with decreased profitability expected in 2026. We decrease our 2026 FFO estimate by $0.35 to $3.90 and decrease 2027 by $0.58 to $4.46. Management is focused on the upcoming 2027 spectrum auctions and preserving the value of the DISH agreement through all legal and governmental channels. We don't see the DISH legal battle being resolved until 2027, with elevated legal expenses in the near term. Longer-term, we note that a larger tenant renewal is upcoming in 2028 and we believe that major carriers have more negotiating power than CCI currently. We are increasingly concerned that the future dividend payout ratio is likely to be over 90% of AFFO, leaving little room for reinvestment or operational error.

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