Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) Given Buy Rating at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reissued their buy rating on shares of Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $85.00 price target on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group set a $58.00 target price on Crane NXT in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research raised Crane NXT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Crane NXT in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. CJS Securities upgraded Crane NXT to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $73.00 price target on shares of Crane NXT in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Crane NXT Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CXT opened at $53.23 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.56. Crane NXT has a 1-year low of $41.54 and a 1-year high of $69.00.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. Crane NXT had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The firm had revenue of $476.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $450.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Crane NXT will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane NXT Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 28th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Crane NXT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Crane NXT’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Institutional Trading of Crane NXT

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Crane NXT by 141.6% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane NXT during the third quarter worth $28,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane NXT in the third quarter worth $31,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane NXT in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Crane NXT during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 77.49% of the company’s stock.

About Crane NXT

Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers’ important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions. The Crane Currency segment provides advanced security solutions based on proprietary technology for securing physical products, including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products.