Crane (NYSE:CR) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CR. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.80.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR opened at $152.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $123.82 and a fifty-two week high of $188.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.65.

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

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Crane by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in Crane in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Crane by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.