Versor Investments LP Makes New Investment in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,675 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CR. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Crane during the third quarter worth $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 22nd. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $162.95 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $161.94 and its 200-day moving average is $161.52. The firm has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. Crane has a 1-year low of $121.07 and a 1-year high of $188.52. 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 (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.18%.

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.