Crane (NYSE:CR) Upgraded to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CR. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $238.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. CJS Securities upgraded Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Crane has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $224.00.

Crane Stock Down 4.4%

Shares of CR opened at $171.42 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $214.31. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.37.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.16 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jennifer Pollino acquired 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $184.29 per share, for a total transaction of $276,435.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,435. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 2,693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.95, for a total transaction of $543,851.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,546.05. This trade represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 5,464 shares of company stock worth $987,470. 2.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CR. InTrack Investment Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Crane by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 1,607 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Crane by 15.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC raised its stake in Crane by 5.4% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in Crane by 3.1% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,933 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Crane by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,167 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.