Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $100.21.

Several analysts have weighed in on CCK shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Crown from $112.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Crown from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Crown from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Crown from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Crown from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Crown Price Performance

NYSE:CCK traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,228,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,139,796. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $81.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.85. Crown has a one year low of $69.61 and a one year high of $94.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.06 billion. Crown had a return on equity of 23.96% and a net margin of 3.68%. Crown's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Crown will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Crown's payout ratio is 28.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James H. Miller sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total value of $746,370.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,068,470.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Crown news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.85, for a total value of $643,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 586,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,323,381.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James H. Miller sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total value of $746,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,884 shares in the company, valued at $1,068,470.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,665,695 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Crown in the first quarter worth $27,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new stake in Crown in the first quarter worth $32,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Crown in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Crown by 190.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 421 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Crown during the first quarter valued at $41,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.