Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Crane (NYSE:CR)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $206.50, but opened at $218.02. Crane shares last traded at $209.02, with a volume of 12,319 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CR shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Crane in a research note on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $253.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Crane from $215.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Crane from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Crane from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $238.60.

Crane Stock Down 0.1%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.70. The firm has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.46 million. Crane had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 12.97%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 17.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James L. L Tullis sold 614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $138,150.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,219,725. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Crane in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crane in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 193.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 232 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Company Profile

Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.