It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Crown Castle (CCI Quick QuoteCCI - Free Report) . Shares have added about 3% in that time frame, underperforming the S&P 500.

Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Crown Castle due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.

Crown Castle Surpasses Q3 FFO and Revenue Estimates

Crown Castle International’s third-quarter 2021 adjusted FFO per share of $1.77 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.72. Moreover, the figure came in 13% higher than the year-ago quarter’s $1.56.

Net revenues of $1.62 billion improved 8.9% year over year in the third quarter. Further, the reported figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 billion.

Growth in site-rental revenues aided the top-line performance. Amid a robust tower leasing environment, the company has also raised its common stock dividend by 11%.

Per management, “The dividend increase is supported by the expected combined growth in 2021 and 2022, and represents the second-consecutive year of dividend growth that meaningfully exceeds our long-term growth target of 7% to 8% per year.”

Quarter in Detail

Site-rental revenues came in at $1.5 billion, up 8.4% year over year. The organic contribution of $77 million to the site rental revenues reflects 5.8% year-over-year growth. Further, services and other revenues rose 13.6% year over year to $167 million.

Quarterly operating expenses flared up 3.8% year over year to $1.09 billion. The operating income climbed 21.2% year over year to $526 million. The quarterly adjusted EBITDA of $976 million marked a 10.5% year-over-year increase.

The company reported a capital expenditure of $283 million for the third quarter. This included $262 million of discretionary capital expenditure and $21 million of sustaining capital expenditure.

Balance Sheet

Crown Castle exited third-quarter 2021 with cash and cash equivalents of $357 million, up from the $232 million reported at the end of Dec 31, 2020.

Also, debt and other long-term obligations aggregated $20.3 billion, up from the $19.1 billion witnessed at the end of 2020.

Dividend

On Oct 20, Crown Castle announced a quarterly cash dividend of $1.47 per common share, marking a rise of 11% from the prior quarter’s dividend of $1.33 per share. The dividend will be paid out on Dec 31 to common stockholders of record as of the close of business on Dec 15, 2021.

Guidance

The company has retained its full-year outlook for 2021 and issued 2022 full-year outlook. The current full-year 2021 outlook has remained unchanged from the prior outlook. The AFFO per share is anticipated to be $6.78-$6.89. Management estimates site-rental revenues of $5,677-$5,722 million. The adjusted EBITDA is projected at $3,764-$3,809 million.

For 2022, the AFFO per share is anticipated to be $7.31-$7.41. Management estimates site-rental revenues of $5,952-$5,997 million. The adjusted EBITDA is projected at $3,999-$4,044 million.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?

In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates review.

VGM Scores

Currently, Crown Castle has a subpar Growth Score of D, a grade with the same score on the momentum front. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

Outlook

Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Crown Castle has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.