Crane (NYSE:CR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Crane (NYSE:CR) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $107.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Crane in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 target price on the stock. CJS Securities started coverage on Crane in a report on Monday, October 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Crane from $87.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Crane from $140.00 to $105.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Crane from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th.

Crane Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of Crane stock opened at $104.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $90.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.11. The company has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 1 year low of $67.28 and a 1 year high of $104.61.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.16. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company had revenue of $530.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $509.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is 9.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CR. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the first quarter worth $28,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Crane by 99.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Crane by 77.9% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. 85.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Crane

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. The company has three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials. The Aerospace & Electronics segment supplies critical components and systems, including original equipment and aftermarket parts, primarily for the commercial aerospace, and the military aerospace, defense, and space markets.