Crane (NYSE:CR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.23

Crane (NYSE:CR) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, January 27th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.23 per share by the conglomerate on Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21.

Crane has a payout ratio of 13.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Crane to earn $8.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.82 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 9.6%.

Crane Stock Up 12.3 %

NYSE CR opened at $175.64 on Wednesday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $163.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. Crane has a 52 week low of $110.49 and a 52 week high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.80.

About Crane

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.