Crown Castle upgraded to Strong Buy from Outperform at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded Crown Castle (CCI) to Strong Buy from Outperform with a price target of $122, down from $128, after the company announced the sale of its entire fiber and small cell business. Crown Castle will now be the “cleanest “of the three U.S. tower stocks, as it will be 100% U.S. towers and “will finally” have a sustainable dividend that will be poised for growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Raymond James views the sale and cut to the dividend payout ratio as “the clearing events” it was waiting for.