Crane (NYSE:CR) Receives $174.80 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Crane (NYSE:CR) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.80.

A number of research firms have commented on CR. UBS Group upped their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Crane Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $157.69 on Friday. Crane has a 52-week low of $128.50 and a 52-week high of $188.52. The company has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $162.04 and a 200-day moving average of $162.10.

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

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter valued at $144,961,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Crane by 619.4% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 499,656 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $75,823,000 after purchasing an additional 430,201 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Crane by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,455,854 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $372,676,000 after purchasing an additional 355,765 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,127,000. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. raised its position in shares of Crane by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 754,170 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,445,000 after purchasing an additional 151,717 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crane Company Profile

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.