Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT Lowers Stake in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lessened its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,064 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT’s holdings in Crane were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $17,062,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Crane by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $103,748,000 after acquiring an additional 91,029 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane by 67.2% during the third quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 93,535 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $14,805,000 after purchasing an additional 37,581 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,459,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 328.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,790 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 18,236 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CR has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued 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 target price of $174.80.

Crane Price Performance

CR stock opened at $171.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $118.48 and a fifty-two week high of $188.52. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.32.

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

Crane Increases Dividend

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

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.