Crane (NYSE:CR) Downgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their price target on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $125.00.

Crane Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:CR opened at $129.54 on Friday. Crane has a twelve month low of $67.28 and a twelve month high of $139.34. The company has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $532.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $519.55 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. Analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Crane’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norden Group LLC grew its stake in Crane by 1,363.7% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 89,432 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,086,000 after purchasing an additional 83,322 shares during the last quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in Crane in the first quarter worth about $210,000. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Crane by 2.6% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 11,972 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Crane by 9.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 65,759 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,886,000 after acquiring an additional 5,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Crane by 1.1% in the first quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 11,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.