Crane (NYSE:CR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $137.00.

CR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Vertical Research raised Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Crane Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Crane stock opened at $145.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.57. Crane has a 1 year low of $71.33 and a 1 year high of $146.52. The company has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 143.0% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 116,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,387,000 after acquiring an additional 68,795 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,619,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth about $679,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Crane by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 100,416 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fractal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at about $579,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.