Crown (NYSE:CCK) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $89.78, but opened at $94.11. Crown shares last traded at $96.43, with a volume of 236,095 shares.

The industrial products company reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.45. Crown had a net margin of 3.59% and a return on equity of 25.12%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Crown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Crown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CCK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Crown from $86.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Crown from $107.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Crown from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Crown from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Crown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $109.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.25.

Institutional Trading of Crown

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Crown by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crown by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Crown by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in Crown by 88.0% during the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Crown by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Crown Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $87.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.17. The company has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.22.

About Crown

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.