StockNews.com Upgrades Crane (NYSE:CR) to “Buy”

Crane (NYSE:CR) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CR. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.00.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE:CR opened at $144.24 on Friday. Crane has a 1 year low of $67.28 and a 1 year high of $146.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $130.79 and a 200-day moving average of $116.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Crane’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Crane by 40.9% during the 4th 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. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 11,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Crane by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 21,276 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,514,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.