Brokerages Set Crane (NYSE:CR) PT at $168.00

Crane (NYSE:CR) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $168.00.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 18th.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $155.98 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $165.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 52 week low of $110.49 and a 52 week high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $597.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.45 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.06%.

Institutional Trading of Crane

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,975 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,845,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane by 0.3% during the third quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 34,038 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,388,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 2.8% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,530 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Crane by 81.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 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.