Crown Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:CCK)

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 9,980 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 426% compared to the average daily volume of 1,897 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Crown in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $88.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Crown in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Crown in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Crown from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Crown from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $637,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 608,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,737,630. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 22,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.18, for a total value of $1,916,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 616,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,486,042.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $637,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 608,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,737,630. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,300,420. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCK. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Crown in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Crown by 190.3% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. 90.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CCK opened at $76.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.88. Crown has a 12 month low of $69.61 and a 12 month high of $96.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.54 and its 200 day moving average is $82.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Crown had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 23.95%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Research analysts predict that Crown will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Crown Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Crown’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.82%.

About Crown

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.