Crane (NYSE:CR) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Crane (NYSE:CR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $139.54 and last traded at $134.59, with a volume of 37167 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $130.73.

The conglomerate reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. Crane’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 28th. Crane’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Crane by 99.3% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Crane by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth $90,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Crane during the third quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Claret Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth $201,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Stock Up 5.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.30. The company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.44, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49.

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.