Crane (NYSE:CR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Vertical Research

Crane (NYSE:CR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Vertical Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

CR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.00.

Crane Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $143.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.83. Crane has a 52 week low of $67.28 and a 52 week high of $145.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.39 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Crane by 2.9% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 14,100 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crane by 3.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 9,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the first quarter valued at $206,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Crane by 7.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 68,481 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,254,000 after purchasing an additional 5,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.