Crane (NYSE:CR) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) saw strong trading volume on Friday . 171,502 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the previous session’s volume of 216,177 shares.The stock last traded at $162.94 and had previously closed at $162.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Crane currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.80.

Crane Stock Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $163.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.29. The stock has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $594.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.06%.

Institutional Trading of Crane

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CR. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane in the third quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Crane by 81.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 220 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Crane during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.