Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.60.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CXT shares. CJS Securities raised Crane NXT to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Zacks Research raised Crane NXT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Crane NXT in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $73.00 target price on shares of Crane NXT in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group set a $58.00 price target on shares of Crane NXT in a research report on Friday.

Crane NXT Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of CXT opened at $52.79 on Thursday. Crane NXT has a 52-week low of $41.54 and a 52-week high of $69.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.58. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 1.18.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.02. Crane NXT had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The company had revenue of $476.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $450.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. Crane NXT’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Crane NXT will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

Crane NXT Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 28th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Crane NXT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Crane NXT’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane NXT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane NXT in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Crane NXT by 141.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC purchased a new position in Crane NXT in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane NXT in the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane NXT during the third quarter worth $31,000. 77.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane NXT Company Profile

Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers’ important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions. The Crane Currency segment provides advanced security solutions based on proprietary technology for securing physical products, including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products.