Crane (NYSE:CR) Stock Has Average Target Price of $242.00 According to Analysts

Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) have received a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $242.00.

CR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Crane from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Crane in a research report on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $253.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Crane from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Tullis sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.38, for a total transaction of $82,152.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,031,212.98. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Crane during the third quarter valued at $80,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Crane by 403.2% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 624 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Crane in the 2nd quarter worth about $202,000. Asset Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Price Performance

Crane stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $209.31. 279,147 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 480,210. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $202.75 and its 200-day moving average is $198.43. Crane has a 12 month low of $159.58 and a 12 month high of $230.50. The stock has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.96, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The conglomerate reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $756.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $737.08 million. Crane had a return on equity of 19.17% and a net margin of 12.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.2550 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 30th. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 17.53%.

Crane Company Profile

Crane Company is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers in aerospace, defense and process industries. Founded in 1855 by Richard Teller Crane, the company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and serves markets around the world. Its Aerospace & Electronics business makes products and systems used in commercial and military aircraft, including sensing and control technologies, power solutions and microwave components. Its Process Flow Technologies business supplies pumps, valves and related equipment for managing the movement and control of fluids in industrial applications.