Crane (NYSE:CR) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CR. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.80.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE:CR opened at $151.58 on Tuesday. Crane has a 1-year low of $126.03 and a 1-year high of $188.52. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $161.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.62. The firm has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Crane by 487.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Crane during the third quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Crane by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.