Kevin Stephens, a director at Crown Castle Inc (CCI), recently added 1,000 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 7 percent, and came to a total cost of $117,996.
The director was also the most recent buyer of shares, with a 2,000 share pickup in October 2022 that cost $247,000. One other director has been a buyer in the past year. Two company insiders were sizeable sellers of shares in April.
Overall, company insiders own 0.4 percent of the cell tower real estate investment trust.
The company has lost about one-third of its price over the past year, amid the stock market selloff and rising interest rates impacting real estate-related trades. Plus, revenue and earnings have been flat overall.
Nevertheless, the company has a 24 percent profit margin, and shares are trading at half the price to earnings ratio of a year ago at 35 times.
Action to take: Investors may like shares for the long term at current prices, as shares are near their 52-week lows. The REIT just raised its dividend payout, and yields about 5.3 percent at current prices.
For traders, shares are trading close to a 52-week low and have been in a downtrend. The October $105 puts, last going for about $4.40, offer mid-double-digit returns on a further move lower in the coming months. If interest rates start to move lower, look to buy calls to play an upside boost in shares.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.