Short Interest in Crane (NYSE:CR) Rises By 45.4%

Crane (NYSE:CR) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 620,300 shares, a growth of 45.4% from the October 15th total of 426,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 217,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR traded down $0.41 on Friday, reaching $173.50. 121,351 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 232,733. The firm has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $158.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.35. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $102.80 and a fifty-two week high of $180.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $594.45 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CR. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Crane from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Crane presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.33.

Institutional Trading of Crane

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake 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 buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $515,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,915 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $532,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.