Crane (NYSE:CR) Upgraded to “Buy” at Vertical Research

Vertical Research upgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other analysts have also commented on CR. StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $137.00.

Crane Stock Up 3.0 %

CR opened at $142.25 on Wednesday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $130.01 and its 200 day moving average is $115.65. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $67.28 and a fifty-two week high of $143.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $565.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.39 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Institutional Trading of Crane

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CR. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its holdings in Crane by 120.5% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,316,245 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $116,935,000 after acquiring an additional 719,408 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter worth $59,659,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter worth $21,302,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 663,221 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $78,353,000 after buying an additional 204,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 98.0% in the 3rd quarter. JS Capital Management LLC now owns 400,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,536,000 after buying an additional 198,000 shares during 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.