Crane (NYSE:CR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $238.60.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Crane in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $253.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Crane from $215.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Crane from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Crane from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In related news, Director James L. L Tullis sold 614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $138,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,421 shares in the company, valued at $1,219,725. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 21,021.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,301,418 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,744,077,000 after buying an additional 12,243,177 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Crane by 289,020.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,855,409 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,448,773,000 after acquiring an additional 7,852,692 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $198,509,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Crane in the 4th quarter valued at $76,171,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Crane by 85.6% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 799,864 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $147,519,000 after purchasing an additional 368,816 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE CR opened at $207.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Crane has a 1-year low of $159.58 and a 1-year high of $230.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a PE ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.03.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.11. Crane had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 12.97%.The firm had revenue of $724.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $708.46 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.050 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Crane will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.83%.

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.