Crane (NYSE:CR) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CR. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Crane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Crane from $215.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $234.00.

Crane Price Performance

NYSE CR opened at $217.90 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $12.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.30. Crane has a 52-week low of $159.58 and a 52-week high of $226.46.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.21. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $696.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $672.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is 18.35%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, Director Susan D. Lynch purchased 150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $177.38 per share, with a total value of $26,607.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 370 shares in the company, valued at $65,630.60. This trade represents a 68.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CR. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Crane by 289,020.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,855,409 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,448,773,000 after purchasing an additional 7,852,692 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,993,123 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $552,022,000 after purchasing an additional 48,679 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at about $198,509,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 917,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $169,282,000 after buying an additional 35,441 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Crane by 0.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 845,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $144,622,000 after buying an additional 3,678 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Crane

Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.