Crane (NYSE:CR) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on CR. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Crane from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $137.00.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of Crane stock opened at $144.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Crane has a one year low of $67.28 and a one year high of $146.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.16.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm had revenue of $565.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in Crane by 120.5% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,316,245 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $116,935,000 after purchasing an additional 719,408 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Crane in the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,659,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $21,302,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Crane by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 663,221 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $78,353,000 after purchasing an additional 204,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Crane by 98.0% in the third quarter. JS Capital Management LLC now owns 400,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,536,000 after purchasing an additional 198,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.