Crane (NYSE:CR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $155.00.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Crane from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Crane from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Institutional Trading of Crane

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Crane by 150.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 29.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane during the second quarter valued at about $123,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Crane during the second quarter worth about $159,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crane Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $144.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.77. Crane has a 12-month low of $82.57 and a 12-month high of $162.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.06. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company had revenue of $581.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $568.33 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

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.