Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $65.14 and last traded at $65.14, with a volume of 8577 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on CXT shares. Baird R W raised Crane NXT to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Crane NXT in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Northland Securities reduced their target price on Crane NXT from $96.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Crane NXT from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Crane NXT Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.02. The firm has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00 and a beta of 1.34.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.02. Crane NXT had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 12.18%. The firm had revenue of $403.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $392.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Crane NXT, Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane NXT Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Crane NXT’s payout ratio is currently 20.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane NXT

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Crane NXT by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,443,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,981,000 after purchasing an additional 22,041 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crane NXT by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,218,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,372,000 after acquiring an additional 33,664 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crane NXT by 93.4% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,135,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,716,000 after acquiring an additional 548,155 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Crane NXT by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,084,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,626,000 after purchasing an additional 33,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Crane NXT by 6.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,000,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,157,000 after purchasing an additional 60,468 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.