Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 26.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 874 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Crane were worth $569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CR. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Crane by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $936,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Janney Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Crane by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in Crane by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 21,276 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,514,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Crane by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 61,179 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,228,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Price Performance

CR opened at $144.89 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.87. Crane has a 12-month low of $82.57 and a 12-month high of $150.01.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.39 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Vertical Research raised Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.67.

Crane 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.