Crane (NYSE:CR) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $157.33.

Several brokerages have weighed in on CR. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Crane from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Crane by 150.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Crane in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Up 5.5 %

Shares of CR stock opened at $168.94 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $9.67 billion, a PE ratio of 37.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $154.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.26. Crane has a 1-year low of $98.06 and a 1-year high of $169.04.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $594.45 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Crane’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.06%.

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.