Crane (NYSE:CR) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $167.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on CR. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $176.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR traded down $0.84 during trading on Thursday, hitting $152.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 269,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 236,180. The company has a 50-day moving average of $168.26 and a 200-day moving average of $156.15. 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 has a market cap of $8.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.93. Crane has a 12 month low of $110.49 and a 12 month high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business had revenue of $597.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $594.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CR. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Crane by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,336 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.3% in the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,038 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,388,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane by 2.6% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Crane by 2.8% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,530 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Crane by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 220 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

About Crane

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.