Crane (NYSE:CR) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

CR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Crane from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $137.00.

Crane Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE CR opened at $144.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 38.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.16. Crane has a 52 week low of $67.28 and a 52 week high of $146.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business had revenue of $565.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Institutional Trading of Crane

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covenant Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth $255,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth $264,000. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth $1,297,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth $351,000. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth $340,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.