Crane (NYSE:CR) Upgraded at Vertical Research

Vertical Research upgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CR. Bank of America raised their price objective on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Crane from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $137.00.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR opened at $144.24 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.67, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.03. Crane has a 1-year low of $67.28 and a 1-year high of $146.29.

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

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 21.98%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crane by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,894,887 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $578,282,000 after acquiring an additional 16,167 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Crane by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,095,540 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $247,567,000 after acquiring an additional 79,710 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in Crane by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,322,850 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $156,282,000 after acquiring an additional 6,605 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Crane by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 742,252 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $87,690,000 after acquiring an additional 37,388 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in Crane by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 663,221 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $78,353,000 after acquiring an additional 204,924 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Crane

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.