Crown (NYSE:CCK) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $89.78, but opened at $94.11. Crown shares last traded at $96.43, with a volume of 236,095 shares traded.

The industrial products company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Crown had a return on equity of 25.12% and a net margin of 3.59%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS.

Crown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Crown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Crown’s payout ratio is presently 29.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CCK shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Crown from $112.00 to $109.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Crown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Crown from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Crown from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Crown from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CCK. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Crown by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crown by 84.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Crown by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in Crown by 88.0% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Crown by 33.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Crown Stock Up 6.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88.

About Crown

Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures.