Crane (NYSE:CR) Upgraded at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $190.00 price target on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their previous price target of $157.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on CR. StockNews.com lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Crane currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.20.

Crane Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CR stock opened at $163.28 on Tuesday. Crane has a 12-month low of $127.04 and a 12-month 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $150.32 and a 200-day moving average of $160.10. The firm has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $557.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.93 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Crane by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,695,440 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,533,000 after acquiring an additional 14,373 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Crane by 16.9% in 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 period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Crane by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,425,015 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $216,246,000 after purchasing an additional 138,279 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Crane by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 976,497 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $148,184,000 after acquiring an additional 14,227 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter worth $144,961,000. Hedge funds and other 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.