Crown (NYSE:CCK) Downgraded to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crown (NYSE:CCK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Crown from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Crown from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Crown from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Crown from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Crown from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.45.

Crown Stock Performance

Shares of Crown stock opened at $99.78 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $94.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.76. Crown has a 12 month low of $70.84 and a 12 month high of $102.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.45. Crown had a return on equity of 25.12% and a net margin of 3.59%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Crown will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Crown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown

In related news, VP Christy L. Kalaus sold 2,130 shares of Crown stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.41, for a total transaction of $211,743.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $447,345. The trade was a 32.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 7,000 shares of Crown stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $679,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 135,014 shares in the company, valued at $13,096,358. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCK. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crown by 47.6% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crown by 45.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 356 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Crown by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Crown by 161.2% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Crown by 74.4% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Crown

Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures.