Crane (NYSE:CR) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Crane (NYSE:CR) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CR. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $171.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 12-month low of $118.48 and a 12-month high of $188.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.83 and a 200 day moving average of $159.63.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $515,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Crane by 328.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,790 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 18,236 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 50.5% in the fourth quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Crane by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $92,707,000 after acquiring an additional 3,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Crane by 5.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 68,012 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,765,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

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.