Crane (NYSE:CR) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Crane (NYSE:CR) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CR. Vertical Research upgraded shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.00.

Crane Price Performance

CR opened at $144.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.77. Crane has a twelve month low of $67.28 and a twelve month high of $146.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.39 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covenant Partners LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $255,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $264,000. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,297,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $351,000. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $340,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.