Crane (NYSE:CR) Stock Price Down 3.6%

Crane (NYSE:CR)’s share price dropped 3.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $153.45 and last traded at $153.45. Approximately 40,496 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 235,628 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Crane from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Crane from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.00.

Crane Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $146.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.50. 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 (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $581.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.33 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Crane in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Cascade Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Crane by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Crane by 27.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,638 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 4,639 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Crane by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 8,710 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Crane in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.