Crown (NYSE:CCK) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Crown (NYSE:CCK) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CCK. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised Crown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Crown from $113.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Crown from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Crown from $88.00 to $86.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.46.

Crown Price Performance

CCK stock opened at $85.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.21. Crown has a 1 year low of $69.61 and a 1 year high of $98.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.97.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.18. Crown had a net margin of 0.83% and a return on equity of 24.57%. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Crown will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown

In related news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.73, for a total value of $725,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 563,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,524,572.94. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.89, for a total transaction of $958,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 114,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,970,007.78. The trade was a 8.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Crown by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Crown by 156.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Crown during the third quarter valued at $44,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crown during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Crown in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Crown Company Profile

Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures.