AlphaQuest LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Crane $CR

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 784.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,555 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,119 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $3,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the 2nd quarter worth about $190,533,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Crane by 0.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 864,230 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $164,135,000 after buying an additional 4,744 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Crane by 1.1% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 736,943 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $139,938,000 after buying an additional 8,151 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Crane by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 440,817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $67,524,000 after acquiring an additional 84,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Crane by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 326,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $61,929,000 after acquiring an additional 14,324 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR opened at $179.24 on Friday. Crane has a twelve month low of $127.04 and a twelve month high of $214.31. The company has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $191.41 and a 200 day moving average of $188.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $572.16 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is 14.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $238.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, December 29th. CJS Securities raised Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 target price on shares of Crane and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.00.

Crane 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.