Analysts Set Crane (NYSE:CR) Price Target at $120.00

Crane (NYSE:CR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $125.00.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CR. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,853 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,608,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Crane by 3.0% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,432 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Crane by 82.1% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,102 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Crane by 4.7% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 7,856 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Crane by 1.1% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,777 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $130.09 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $129.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.20. The stock has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. Crane has a one year low of $67.28 and a one year high of $139.34.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $532.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $519.55 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. On average, analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

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.