Crane (NYSE:CR) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Crane (NYSE:CR) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 271,415 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the previous session’s volume of 232,941 shares.The stock last traded at $171.59 and had previously closed at $171.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.50.

Crane Trading Up 3.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.39 and its 200 day moving average is $151.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 4.3% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 193,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,087,000 after buying an additional 7,945 shares in the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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. Capital International Investors grew its position in Crane by 103.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,348,451 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $182,216,000 after buying an additional 685,230 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Crane by 11.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 192,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $27,902,000 after buying an additional 20,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in shares of Crane by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 123,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,972,000 after acquiring an additional 51,342 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.