Crane (NYSE:CR) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Crane (NYSE:CR) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $222.20.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Crane from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In related news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 20,791 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.74, for a total transaction of $4,007,257.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 33,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,461,801.24. This represents a 38.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Crane by 104.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Crane by 63.4% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Crane by 15.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in Crane in the first quarter valued at about $76,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR opened at $178.92 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $203.89. The company has a market capitalization of $10.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $186.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.15. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business had revenue of $577.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $567.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.500-5.800 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.31%.

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.