Crane (NYSE:CR) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $168.00.

CR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $176.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CR traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $151.63. The stock had a trading volume of 164,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,127. The company has a market cap of $8.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. Crane has a twelve month low of $110.49 and a twelve month high of $188.52. The business's fifty day moving average is $167.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $594.45 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Crane's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at about $515,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Crane by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 192,452 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $27,902,000 after acquiring an additional 20,518 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 70.7% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 123,961 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $17,972,000 after purchasing an additional 51,342 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crane by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 112,797 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $16,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,355 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Crane by 673.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 82,172 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $11,913,000 after buying an additional 71,544 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently 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.