Crown (NYSE:CCK) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Crown (NYSE:CCK) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

CCK has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Crown from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Crown from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Crown from $105.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Crown from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.92.

Crown Stock Performance

NYSE:CCK opened at $78.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Crown has a 1 year low of $69.61 and a 1 year high of $98.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $87.66 and a 200-day moving average of $87.74.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Crown had a return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 0.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crown will post 6.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.73, for a total transaction of $725,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 563,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,524,572.94. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.89, for a total value of $958,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 114,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,970,007.78. This represents a 8.04 % 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCK. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Crown by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Crown by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 9,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Crown by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Crown by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Crown by 5.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,304 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.