Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 3,528 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 39.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,453 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,528 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Crane during the 4th quarter worth $246,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A bought a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter valued at about $247,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Price Performance

CR opened at $144.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $119.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $8.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. Crane has a 12 month low of $71.33 and a 12 month high of $146.68.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.39 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. Crane’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Crane’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Vertical Research upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.00.

Crane 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.