Crown (NYSE:CCK) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $85.10, but opened at $91.77. Crown shares last traded at $87.27, with a volume of 159,530 shares trading hands.

The industrial products company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.08. Crown had a return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 0.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCK has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Crown from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho reduced their price target on Crown from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Crown from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on Crown from $113.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crown from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Crown currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Crown by 21.4% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Crown in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $457,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,203,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Crown by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 29,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,781,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crown by 110.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The firm has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $85.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.23.

Crown Company Profile

Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures.