Crane $CR Stock: Vest Financial LLC Boosts Holdings

Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 52.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,168 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 10,319 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.05% of Crane worth $6,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Crane by 2.9% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,041 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Crane by 7.8% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,179 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,057,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Crane by 1.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,657 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,214,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Novem Group increased its holdings in Crane by 1.7% in the third quarter. Novem Group now owns 5,746 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the third quarter worth about $248,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James Tullis sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 5,021 shares in the company, valued at $1,031,212.98. This represents a 7.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company’s stock.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR opened at $182.65 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $203.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.54.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $724.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. Crane had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.850-7.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 6.99 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $0.2550 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 17.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CR shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Crane in a research note on Monday, July 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $253.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Crane from $215.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $240.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Crane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $239.00.

About Crane

Crane Company (NYSE: CR) is a diversified industrial technology company that develops and manufactures highly engineered products for aerospace, industrial, commercial and other specialized markets. The company serves customers worldwide through businesses focused on mission-critical components, systems and services.

Its Aerospace & Electronics segment supplies products such as sensing and control systems, aircraft components, power-management equipment and other electronic solutions for commercial and military aerospace applications.