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

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $156.17.

CR has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Crane from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Crane Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:CR opened at $159.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $151.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.59. Crane has a twelve month low of $82.57 and a twelve month high of $162.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.77.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $568.33 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crane by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,894,887 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $578,282,000 after purchasing an additional 16,167 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Crane by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,095,540 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $247,567,000 after buying an additional 79,710 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Crane by 103.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,348,451 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $182,216,000 after acquiring an additional 685,230 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in Crane by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,322,850 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $156,282,000 after buying an additional 6,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Crane by 10.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 771,709 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $111,882,000 after acquiring an additional 70,297 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Crane

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.