Crane (NYSE:CR) Upgraded at Vertical Research

Vertical Research upgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Crane presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $137.00.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $142.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $130.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. Crane has a 52-week low of $67.28 and a 52-week high of $143.67.

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

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Crane by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Crane by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Crane by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Crane by 1.1% during the first quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 11,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 99.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 143 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.