Crane (NYSE:CR) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

CR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of CR opened at $170.14 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $9.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.97. Crane has a 52-week low of $118.48 and a 52-week high of $188.52.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Crane by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,741 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Crane by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares during the period. TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth $493,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,515,000 after buying an additional 2,953 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Crane by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 40,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,210,000 after buying an additional 10,624 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.