Crane (NYSE:CR) Short Interest Update

Crane (NYSE:CR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 715,700 shares, an increase of 18.9% from the August 15th total of 601,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 224,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Crane Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CR traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $152.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 237,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,410. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Crane has a one year low of $82.57 and a one year high of $162.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.32.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Crane’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 4,020 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 62,613 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $951,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 31,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. 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, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Crane currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.00.

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.