Aquatic Capital Management LLC Takes $5.33 Million Position in Crane $CR

Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 28,948 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $5,330,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Crane as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 57.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Crane by 217.0% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 279 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CJS Securities upgraded Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price target on shares of Crane and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $224.00.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR opened at $174.14 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $197.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.21. 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 twelve month low of $127.04 and a twelve month high of $214.31. The company has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.32%.

Insider Activity at Crane

In other news, Director Susan D. Lynch acquired 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $182.22 per share, for a total transaction of $27,333.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,088.40. This represents a 214.29% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 2,693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.95, for a total value of $543,851.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 10,639 shares in the company, valued at $2,148,546.05. This trade represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have bought a total of 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470 over the last 90 days. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.