Stifel Nicolaus Increases Crane (NYSE:CR) Price Target to $157.00

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

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CR. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Vertical Research raised Crane from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $137.00.

Crane Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CR opened at $144.24 on Wednesday. Crane has a one year low of $67.28 and a one year high of $146.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.03. 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 company has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.39 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crane by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Crane in the third quarter worth approximately $1,180,000. Covenant Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at $255,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $264,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter worth $1,297,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.