Crane (NYSE:CR) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Crane (NYSE:CR) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crane currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR opened at $171.86 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $163.25 and its 200-day moving average is $158.85. Crane has a 12 month low of $118.48 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The firm has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Crane

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $493,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Crane by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Crane by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 40,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,210,000 after purchasing an additional 10,624 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Crane by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 132,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,068,000 after purchasing an additional 35,340 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $1,032,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Crane

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials.