Crane (NYSE:CR) Upgraded to “Buy” by Vertical Research

Crane (NYSE:CR) was upgraded by Vertical Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CR. Bank of America lifted their target price on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.00.

Crane Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE CR opened at $143.99 on Wednesday. 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 has a twelve month low of $67.28 and a twelve month high of $145.80. The company has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $130.37 and its 200 day moving average is $115.83.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $565.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CR. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Crane by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in Crane by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $936,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC increased its position in Crane by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC increased its position in Crane by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 11,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Crane by 99.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.