Crane (NYSE:CR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $168.00.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CR. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $515,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane by 11.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 192,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $27,902,000 after purchasing an additional 20,518 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in shares of Crane by 70.7% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 123,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,972,000 after purchasing an additional 51,342 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Crane by 4.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,797 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $16,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Crane by 673.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,172 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,913,000 after purchasing an additional 71,544 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $150.34 on Monday. Crane has a 1 year low of $110.49 and a 1 year high of $188.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $167.18 and its 200-day moving average is $157.41. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $597.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.45 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 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.06%.

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.