Crane (NYSE:CR) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Crane (NYSE:CR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $216.98 and last traded at $213.22, with a volume of 579517 shares. The stock had previously closed at $215.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CR shares. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Crane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crane presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.33.

Crane Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $187.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.24.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.21. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $696.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $672.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.35%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, Director Susan D. Lynch purchased 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $177.38 per share, for a total transaction of $26,607.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,630.60. This represents a 68.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crane

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Crane in the second quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Crane by 57.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Crane in the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.