Crane (NYSE:CR) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts have also commented on CR. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crane presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.

Crane Trading Down 3.7 %

CR opened at $165.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. Crane has a 12 month low of $121.04 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $161.40 and a 200 day moving average of $160.96.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crane

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in Crane by 487.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Crane by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.