Crane (CR) – What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Crane (NYSE:CR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Strong Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $242.00.

Several research analysts have commented on CR shares. DA Davidson set a $255.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Crane from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Crane from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Crane in a research note on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $253.00 price target on the stock.

Crane Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE CR traded down $0.17 on Friday, reaching $209.31. 279,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 480,210. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $202.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.03. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $159.58 and a fifty-two week high of $230.50.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.23. Crane had a net margin of 12.41% and a return on equity of 19.17%. The company had revenue of $756.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $737.08 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be issued a $0.2550 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, Director James Tullis sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.38, for a total value of $82,152.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,212.98. The trade was a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Crane by 0.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $144,622,000 after purchasing an additional 3,678 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 46.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 499,407 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $101,889,000 after purchasing an additional 159,371 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 24.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 361,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $61,777,000 after buying an additional 71,086 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 263,166 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $45,001,000 after acquiring an additional 19,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 52.2% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 216,636 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,199,000 after purchasing an additional 74,344 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Crane

Crane Company is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers in aerospace, defense and process industries. Founded in 1855 by Richard Teller Crane, the company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and serves markets around the world. Its Aerospace & Electronics business makes products and systems used in commercial and military aircraft, including sensing and control technologies, power solutions and microwave components. Its Process Flow Technologies business supplies pumps, valves and related equipment for managing the movement and control of fluids in industrial applications.