Crane (NYSE:CR) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $176.00 price objective on the conglomerate’s stock.

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.50.

Crane Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE CR opened at $171.23 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $159.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. Crane has a 1-year low of $102.80 and a 1-year high of $180.87.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.45 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.06%.

Institutional Trading of Crane

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 193,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,087,000 after purchasing an additional 7,945 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC boosted its position in Crane by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 33,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,508,000 after acquiring an additional 4,020 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Crane by 103.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,348,451 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $182,216,000 after buying an additional 685,230 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 20,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd increased 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 worth $17,972,000 after purchasing an additional 51,342 shares during 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.