Crane (NYSE:CR) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.80.

Several equities analysts have commented on CR shares. StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd.

Insider Activity at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Crane

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Crane by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Crane by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crane Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of CR opened at $152.27 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.87. The company has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a twelve month low of $128.50 and a twelve month high of $188.52.

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 net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

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.