Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Down 7.6% – Here’s Why

Crane (NYSE:CR) fell 7.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $211.54 and last traded at $209.0480. 96,935 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 503,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.34.

More Crane News

Here are the key news stories impacting Crane this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Crane exceeded quarterly expectations and raised guidance. Second-quarter adjusted EPS was $1.79, beating the $1.68 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $724.7 million versus expectations of $708.5 million. Management raised full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $6.85-$7.05 from $6.65-$6.85, above the current $6.79 consensus. Crane Company Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results and Raises Full Year Adjusted EPS Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Growth was broad-based and profitability improved. Sales increased 25.6% year over year, operating profit rose 40.2% to $144.3 million, and operating margin expanded 210 basis points to 19.9%. Aerospace & Advanced Technologies sales grew 31.3%, while Process Flow Technologies sales increased 20.9%. Backlog stood at $1.887 billion at June 30, providing visibility into future revenue. Crane raises outlook after Q2 sales climb 25.6%
• Positive Sentiment: The quarterly dividend was maintained. Crane declared a $0.255-per-share dividend, payable September 9 to shareholders of record August 31. The payment represents an annualized $1.02 per share and an approximately 0.5% yield. Crane dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent insider activity has been favorable overall, with six purchases and one sale reported over the past six months, including purchases by CEO Max Mitchell and other executives. While supportive of management confidence, the transactions are relatively small compared with Crane’s market capitalization.
• Negative Sentiment: At roughly 27.5 times earnings and near its 52-week high, Crane’s valuation leaves less room for disappointment. Investors may also be weighing whether the guidance increase fully reflects the strong quarterly growth, contributing to the stock’s weaker reaction despite the earnings beat.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Crane in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $253.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Crane from $215.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.00.

Crane Stock Down 8.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.01.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.11. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.The firm had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan D. Lynch acquired 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $177.38 per share, for a total transaction of $26,607.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,630.60. The trade was a 68.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crane

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Crane in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Crane

Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.