Telecom & Wireless
Deutsche Bank Stays Bullish on Towers and Telecom: 4 Stocks to Buy Now
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If the pricey stock market has you worried, one safe place to look at is telecommunications, especially the big carriers and the tower companies. One thing that never goes out-of-favor, even when times get tough, is people needing their phone, and most people these days operate on wireless smartphones.
A new Deutsche Bank research report stays positive on not only a large cap carrier and data center company, but also on two of the top tower companies.
The report noted this about the tower stocks:
Commentary from each of the public Tower companies implies a concurrent wave of elevated network spend from the national carriers. This is both tied to LTE network densification (adding network capacity to support unlimited plans, OTT video, etc.) as well as early 5G builds.
The four stocks are rated Buy by the Deutsche Bank team, and all make good sense for growth portfolios looking for exposure to this fast-growing sector.
American Tower
This wireless tower company is a top pick on Wall Street and is acknowledged as an industry leader. American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT) is the largest global owner and operator of wireless and broadcast communications towers. Its portfolio includes approximately 140,000 sites in the United States, Latin America, India, Europe and Africa. The core business for the company is leasing space on its wireless towers, primarily to wireless carriers, government agencies and broadband data providers.
On a multiple basis the stock trades cheaper than the competition, and many top analysts around Wall Street feel the growth potential for the company remains among the best in the industry.
American Tower investors receive a 2.06% distribution. The Deutsche Bank price target for the stock is $169, and the Wall Street consensus target is slightly lower at $162.50. The shares closed Friday’s trading at $149.18.
Crown Castle International
This top tower stock offers incredible growth and income possibilities. Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) is one of the largest U.S. wireless tower companies, with over 40,000 towers across the country. Its core business is leasing space on its wireless towers primarily to wireless carriers, government agencies and broadband data providers.
The company reported solid results and appears to have momentum building through the year, and most expect the second half of 2018 will be stronger than the first half, with growing backlogs across towers, fiber and small cells.
The analysts believe near-term upside to estimates remain, and being in the early innings of 5G network upgrade cycles with leading tower and fiber/small cell portfolios, Crown Castle looks very well positioned.
Investors in Crown Castle receive a 3.81% distribution. Deutsche Bank has a $126 price objective, while the consensus estimate is $117.35. The stock closed Friday at $110.34.
Verizon
The stock of this top telecommunications company offers tremendous value. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is a global leader in delivering the digital world. Verizon Wireless operates America’s self-described most reliable wireless network, with 109.5 million retail connections nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and it delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide.
Verizon reported better-than-expected second-quarter results as the company finished out the first half of 2018 strong. It enjoyed a total of 531,000 retail postpaid net additions, which includes 398,000 postpaid smartphone net adds. That total also includes tablet losses of 37,000 but additions of 369,000 other connected devices (mostly wearables). The carrier’s retail postpaid phone churn was much lower than overall retail churn at just 0.75%.
Investors receive a 4.5% dividend. The $59 Deutsche Bank price target compares with the $56.25 consensus target. The stock closed Friday at $52.47.
24/7 Wall St.Zayo
This company has been a rumored takeover candidate and is a big potential 5G winner. Zayo Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) provides comprehensive bandwidth infrastructure services in over 300 markets throughout the United States and Europe. Its delivers a suite of dark fiber, mobile infrastructure, and cloud and connectivity services to wireline and wireless customers, data centers, internet content providers, high-bandwidth enterprises and government agencies across its robust 82,000 route mile network.
The company also offers 45 carrier-neutral data center facilities across the United States and France. Zayo was the first to offer bandwidth shopping and buying in under two minutes through Tranzact.
The Deutsche Bank price target is $42. The consensus target is $42.31, and shares closed Friday at $37.70.
These top telecommunication, tower and data center stocks all make sense for growth investors looking for consistent returns and a degree of safety. With the volatility looking to go higher, they definitely make sense now.
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