Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Acquired by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC grew its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,020 shares during the quarter. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Crane worth $4,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Crane by 150.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Crane by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth about $90,000. Claret Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, SkyOak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Crane from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Crane from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.50.

Crane Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of CR traded down $5.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $155.07. The company had a trading volume of 80,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 238,893. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. Crane has a 1 year low of $82.57 and a 1 year high of $162.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.33.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.06. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.33 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Crane Company Profile

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.