Crane (NYSE:CR) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $176.00 price target on the conglomerate’s stock.

Separately, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.50.

Crane Price Performance

NYSE:CR opened at $171.23 on Monday. Crane has a 52 week low of $102.80 and a 52 week high of $180.87. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.72. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $594.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Crane in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Crane by 150.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.