Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,900 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.17% of Crane worth $15,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Crane by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 193,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,087,000 after acquiring an additional 7,945 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 13.7% during the first quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 33,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,508,000 after buying an additional 4,020 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 11.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 192,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $27,902,000 after buying an additional 20,518 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 70.7% during the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 123,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,972,000 after buying an additional 51,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the second quarter worth about $509,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock opened at $184.36 on Friday. Crane has a one year low of $102.80 and a one year high of $185.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $161.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $594.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.00.

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.