5 Best Data Center Stocks to Invest In

4. Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50

Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) is a specialized REIT that provides shared communications infrastructure in the United States. The company owns and operates more than 900 data centers that provide its clients with high-bandwidth connectivity. At the end of Q1 2022, 50 hedge funds held stakes in Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) worth $1.86 billion. This is compared to 38 positions in the previous quarter with stakes worth $2.07 billion.

Analysts are bullish on Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI). On June 30, Jefferies analyst Jonathan Petersen raised his price target on Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) to $200 from $191 and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. Moreover, on July 1, KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel reiterated his buy-side Overweight rating on Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) but lowered his price target on the shares to $205 from $219.

Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) has been growing its dividends for the past 8 years and boasts a 5-year dividend CAGR of 8.97%. As of July 8, the company has $1.49 billion in free cash flows and is offering a forward dividend yield of 3.43%. Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) is therefore a dividend-paying data center stock to invest in.

In the first quarter of 2022, Fisher Asset Management raised its stakes in Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) by 6% and brought them to $509.78 million. As of March 31, Fisher Asset Management owns over 2.76 million shares of Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE:CCI) and is the leading shareholder in the company.