Short Interest in Crane (NYSE:CR) Increases By 9.4%

Crane (NYSE:CR) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 475,800 shares, a growth of 9.4% from the January 15th total of 434,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 266,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.80.

Crane Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:CR opened at $171.83 on Tuesday. Crane has a 1-year low of $118.48 and a 1-year high of $188.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.16 and a 200 day moving average of $160.32. The firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth about $515,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Crane by 328.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,790 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 18,236 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Crane by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $92,707,000 after acquiring an additional 3,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 5.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 68,012 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,765,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.