Crane (NYSE:CR) Given New $157.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Crane (NYSE:CR) had its price objective upped by Stifel Nicolaus from $150.00 to $157.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the conglomerate’s stock.

CR has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com cut Crane from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Vertical Research upgraded Crane from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crane currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $137.00.

Crane Price Performance

NYSE:CR opened at $142.25 on Wednesday. Crane has a 52 week low of $67.28 and a 52 week high of $143.67. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 38.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $130.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.65.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company had revenue of $565.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Crane’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 99.3% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the fourth quarter valued at about $90,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Claret Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.