StockNews.com Downgrades Crane (NYSE:CR) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CR. UBS Group upped their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $165.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. Crane has a 52 week low of $121.04 and a 52 week high of $188.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.40 and a 200 day moving average of $160.96.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Crane by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Crane by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Crane by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Crane by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,196 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Crane by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Company Profile

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials.