Analysts Set Crane (NYSE:CR) Target Price at $174.80

Crane (NYSE:CR) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $174.80.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CR shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Activity

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This trade represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Crane by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,439 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Crane by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,196 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC grew its position in Crane by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crane Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of CR stock opened at $154.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.82 and a 1 year high of $188.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $161.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.