Analysts Set Crane (NYSE:CR) Price Target at $221.83

Crane (NYSE:CR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $221.8333.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CR shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Monday, December 29th. DA Davidson set a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price target on shares of Crane and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Crane to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Crane from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock opened at $208.00 on Friday. Crane has a 12-month low of $127.04 and a 12-month high of $214.31. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $11.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%.The firm had revenue of $589.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.54 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.750-5.950 EPS. Analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Crane during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $190,533,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Crane by 114.8% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 439,157 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $80,866,000 after acquiring an additional 234,681 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 5,159.8% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 232,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $44,216,000 after purchasing an additional 228,424 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 116.2% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 401,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $73,950,000 after purchasing an additional 215,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Crane by 84.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 431,048 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $78,300,000 after purchasing an additional 196,917 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Company Profile

Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.