Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Invests $1.01 Million in Crane $CR

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 5,462 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Crane in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Crane by 63.4% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 219 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth approximately $60,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Crane in the 2nd quarter valued at $96,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Stock Up 2.3%

Crane stock opened at $198.99 on Friday. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $127.04 and a fifty-two week high of $203.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.25. The stock has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $589.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $578.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.750-5.950 EPS. Research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 14.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. DA Davidson set a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price target on shares of Crane and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Crane from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $221.83.

Crane Profile

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.