Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.88, but opened at $45.26. Crane NXT shares last traded at $45.5560, with a volume of 123,128 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CXT shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Crane NXT from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Crane NXT from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $67.00 price target on Crane NXT in a report on Friday, May 8th. Northland Securities raised Crane NXT from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Crane NXT in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.40.

Crane NXT Trading Up 7.0%

The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $387.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $378.63 million. Crane NXT had a return on equity of 19.59% and a net margin of 7.57%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Crane NXT has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Crane NXT, Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Crane NXT Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, May 31st were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Crane NXT’s payout ratio is currently 32.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane NXT

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CXT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Crane NXT by 120.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 716 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Crane NXT by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 177,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,139,000 after acquiring an additional 33,336 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Crane NXT by 89.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 52,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 24,540 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane NXT by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Crane NXT during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.49% of the company’s stock.

About Crane NXT

Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers’ important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions. The Crane Currency segment provides advanced security solutions based on proprietary technology for securing physical products, including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products.