Crane (NYSE:CR) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $178.20.

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upgraded Crane from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $157.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price objective on Crane and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of Crane stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total value of $230,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,734,871.60. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CR. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,196 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crane by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of Crane stock opened at $170.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $155.17 and its 200-day moving average is $161.70. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $188.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $557.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.93 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Crane’s payout ratio is 15.94%.

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.