Crown Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CCK)

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 4,876 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 164% compared to the typical volume of 1,848 put options.

Crown Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CCK opened at $83.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.94 and a 200-day moving average of $82.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.91. Crown has a 52 week low of $69.61 and a 52 week high of $96.35.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.06. Crown had a return on equity of 24.23% and a net margin of 3.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Crown will post 5.9 EPS for the current year.

Crown Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Crown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Crown’s dividend payout ratio is 28.82%.

Insider Activity at Crown

In other Crown news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 22,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.18, for a total transaction of $1,916,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 616,178 shares in the company, valued at $52,486,042.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Crown by 55.6% in the third quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 70,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,194,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Crown by 245.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 62,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,784,000 after purchasing an additional 44,630 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Crown in the 4th quarter worth $3,122,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Crown by 4.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 504,720 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,658,000 after buying an additional 19,666 shares during the period. Finally, SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Crown by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 86,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,618,000 after purchasing an additional 14,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CCK. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Crown from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $88.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Crown in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Crown from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Crown in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Crown from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.29.

Crown Company Profile

Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures.