Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Crane (NYSE:CR) Stock

Crane (NYSE:CR) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $200.00 to $201.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the conglomerate’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential downside of 1.72% from the stock’s current price.

CR has been the subject of several other research reports. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price target on shares of Crane and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated 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 note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $235.00 price target on Crane in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Crane Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $204.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $190.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.51. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $214.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $589.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.54 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.750-5.950 EPS. Analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Crane

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 276.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,402 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 3,967 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Crane by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,182 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,491,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Crane by 86.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 136,413 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,119,000 after purchasing an additional 63,401 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. purchased a new position in Crane during the 2nd quarter worth $510,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Crane by 379.1% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 2,157 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Company 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.