Should You Buy Crown Castle Inc (CCI) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Buy
Latest Price
84.890
1 Day change
-2.14%
52 Week Range
115.760
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/28
BUY for a beginner, long-term investor who wants to act now. CCI is trading at ~$86.2, well below recent Wall Street targets (~$93–$116) even after multiple cuts, implying meaningful upside if the DISH-related overhang doesn’t worsen. Technically the stock is still in a bearish moving-average structure, but it’s sitting right on key support (~$85.8), and options positioning (low put/call open interest ratio) leans constructive rather than fearful. Dividend distributions remain a clear support for long-term holders.
**Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals**
- [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): No signal on given stock today.
- [SwingMax](module://swingmax): No signal on given stock today.
Technical Analysis
Trend is still bearish/weak-to-stabilizing.
- Price: 86.2 (-0.74% regular session), near support.
- Moving averages: Bearish stack (SMA_200 > SMA_20 > SMA_5) = longer-term downtrend remains intact.
- RSI(6): 40.15 = weak momentum but not oversold; consistent with a stock trying to base.
- MACD: Histogram slightly above 0 (0.00891) but positively contracting = early stabilization, not a strong uptrend yet.
- Key levels: Support S1 ~85.775 (very close), S2 ~84.363; Resistance Pivot ~88.062 then R1 ~90.348. A clean move back above ~88 would be an early technical improvement signal.
Options Data
Bullish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Neutral
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
Sentiment read-through:
- Open Interest Put/Call = 0.57 (more calls than puts outstanding) = moderately bullish positioning.
- Volume Put/Call = 0.95 = near-balanced flow (slightly put-leaning on the day).
- Implied vol (30d) 29.08 vs historical vol 24.29, IV percentile 66.4 = options are pricing elevated near-term uncertainty (likely DISH/earnings related), but not extreme panic.
- Today’s options volume vs 30d avg: 18.33 = unusually high activity, suggesting heightened attention into upcoming catalysts.
Technical Summary
Sell
10
Buy
0
Positive Catalysts
- Dividend/cash distribution reaffirmed: $1.56 per share distribution schedule (income support for long-term holders).
- Potential DISH resolution/settlement remains a swing factor; Wells Fargo commentary suggests a settlement outcome could support longer-term consensus.
- Earnings event upcoming: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-04 (after hours) can reset expectations if results/guide are stable.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
- Analyst price targets have been repeatedly cut (even when ratings stayed positive), signaling reduced near-term confidence/visibility.
Financial Performance
Latest quarter provided: 2025/Q3.
- Revenue: $1.072B, down -4.29% YoY (top-line decline).
- Net income: $323M, up +6.60% YoY (profitability improved despite lower revenue).
- EPS: $0.74, up +7.25% YoY.
- Gross margin: 58.3%, down -1.82% YoY (slight margin compression).
Overall: mixed—growth on EPS/net income is positive, but revenue and margin softness show the business is not in a clean growth phase right now.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Recent trend: ratings mostly stayed Buy/Overweight/Neutral, but price targets have been cut repeatedly in Jan 2026 (and late 2025), reflecting caution around DISH-related uncertainty and revised estimates.
- KeyBanc (2026-01-21): Overweight, PT cut to $115 (from $120).
- UBS (2026-01-20): Buy, PT cut to $116 (from $127).
- Goldman Sachs (2026-01-16): Neutral, PT cut to $105 (from $117).
- New Street (2026-01-05): Downgrade to Neutral, PT $93.
- Wells Fargo / Barclays (late 2025): Overweight with PTs trimmed (still constructive).
Wall Street pros: attractive risk-reward at current levels, CCI viewed as a preferred tower idea by some firms, dividend/income appeal, potential upside if DISH outcome stabilizes.
Wall Street cons: tenant/default uncertainty (DISH), estimate cuts and churn risk, and weaker revenue trend.
Influential/politician activity: No recent congress trading data available; hedge fund and insider trends are both neutral (no notable recent accumulation/selling signals).
Wall Street analysts forecast CCI stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CCI is 107.78 USD with a low forecast of 93 USD and a high forecast of 127 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
11 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast CCI stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for CCI is 107.78 USD with a low forecast of 93 USD and a high forecast of 127 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
8 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 86.750
Low
93
Averages
107.78
High
127
Current: 86.750
Low
93
Averages
107.78
High
127
Raymond James
initiated
AI Analysis
2026-01-28
New
Reason
Raymond James
Price Target
AI Analysis
2026-01-28
New
initiated
Reason
Raymond James added Crown Castle to the firm's Analyst Current Favorites list. The list contains the current favorite stock ideas from the firm's equity analysts. An analyst may only have one "buy" idea on the list at any given time. All three tower stocks appear attractive heading into 2026, with Crown Castle standing out as the top pick, the firm says.
KeyBanc
Brandon Nispel
Overweight
downgrade
$120 -> $115
2026-01-21
Reason
KeyBanc
Brandon Nispel
Price Target
$120 -> $115
2026-01-21
downgrade
Overweight
Reason
KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel lowered the firm's price target on Crown Castle to $115 from $120 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says Crown Castle remains one of its favorite ideas, though it is lowering its price target based on its lower estimates.
Unlock Full Analyst Thesis， Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for CCI
