TigerOak Management L.L.C. Takes $493,000 Position in Crane (NYSE:CR)

TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,251 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Crane by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $20,515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Crane by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 40,920 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $6,210,000 after purchasing an additional 10,624 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Crane by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 132,238 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,068,000 after purchasing an additional 35,340 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Crane by 64.4% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 16,106 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,444,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 32,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CR. UBS Group lifted their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Crane from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.80.

Crane Stock Performance

Crane stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.40. 250,876 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 264,302. The firm has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. Crane has a twelve month low of $118.48 and a twelve month high of $188.52. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $161.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.60.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from Crane's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

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.