Brokerages Set Crane (NYSE:CR) Target Price at $143.67

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.67.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $157.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Crane from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Vertical Research raised Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Institutional Trading of Crane

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Crane by 150.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Crane by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $90,000. SkyOak Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Finally, Sutton Place Investors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the first quarter worth approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Crane stock opened at $144.65 on Thursday. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $82.57 and a fifty-two week high of $150.01. 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 market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $144.42 and a 200 day moving average of $131.51.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Crane’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

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.