Crane (NYSE:CR) Price Target Lowered to $144.00 at Stifel Nicolaus

Crane (NYSE:CR) had its target price decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $170.00 to $144.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on CR. StockNews.com lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.60.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $141.02 on Monday. Crane has a 52 week low of $127.04 and a 52 week high of $188.52. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $156.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.03.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $144,961,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Crane by 619.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 499,656 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $75,823,000 after buying an additional 430,201 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Crane by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,455,854 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $372,676,000 after acquiring an additional 355,765 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,127,000. Finally, Select Equity Group L.P. lifted its stake in Crane by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 754,170 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,445,000 after purchasing an additional 151,717 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.