Crane (NYSE:CR) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

CR has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Price Performance

Crane stock opened at $172.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $162.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.51. Crane has a 1 year low of $118.48 and a 1 year high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Institutional Trading of Crane

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in Crane by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Crane by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,975 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,845,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Crane by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Crane by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 88 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.