Crane (NYSE:CR) Receives $224.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $224.00.

CR has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $238.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. CJS Securities raised shares of Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Activity

In other Crane news, Director Jennifer Pollino acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $184.29 per share, with a total value of $276,435.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,435. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan D. Lynch acquired 150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $182.22 per share, for a total transaction of $27,333.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,088.40. This trade represents a 214.29% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders acquired a total of 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470 over the last ninety days. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Crane

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Crane by 289,020.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,855,409 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,448,773,000 after buying an additional 7,852,692 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $198,509,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Crane by 4,412.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 240,836 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $44,417,000 after buying an additional 235,499 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Crane by 114.8% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 439,157 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $80,866,000 after purchasing an additional 234,681 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 5,159.8% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 232,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $44,216,000 after acquiring an additional 228,424 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

Crane stock opened at $200.34 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 1-year low of $127.04 and a 1-year high of $214.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $581.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $572.16 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.32%.

About Crane

Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.