Crane (NYSE:CR) Stock Rating Upgraded by Vertical Research

Crane (NYSE:CR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Vertical Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports.

CR has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.00.

Crane Price Performance

CR stock opened at $138.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.65. Crane has a 52-week low of $67.28 and a 52-week high of $139.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.39 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CR. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Crane by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,180,000. Covenant Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $255,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $264,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,297,000. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.