Insider Buying: Crane (NYSE:CR) Director Buys $499,991.52 in Stock

Crane (NYSE:CR) Director Sanjay Kapoor acquired 2,814 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $177.68 per share, with a total value of $499,991.52. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $499,991.52. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Crane Stock Down 0.2%

CR opened at $189.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.94 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $191.93 and a 200-day moving average of $188.53. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $127.04 and a fifty-two week high of $214.31. 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 (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.16 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 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is 16.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 target price on shares of Crane and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $238.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Crane in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Crane by 57.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Company 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.