Brokerages Set Crane (NYSE:CR) Price Target at $155.00

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $155.00.

A number of brokerages have commented on CR. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Crane Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Crane stock opened at $152.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.32. Crane has a 12-month low of $82.57 and a 12-month high of $162.34.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Crane by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 193,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,087,000 after acquiring an additional 7,945 shares during the last quarter. Castleark Management LLC boosted its stake in Crane by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 33,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,508,000 after acquiring an additional 4,020 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its stake in Crane by 98.7% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 126,031 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $14,913,000 after acquiring an additional 62,613 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $951,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Crane by 70.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 75,410 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,190,000 after acquiring an additional 31,069 shares during the last quarter. 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.