Crane (NYSE:CR) Shares Purchased by Interval Partners LP

Interval Partners LP increased its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 44.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,621 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 18,889 shares during the period. Interval Partners LP’s holdings in Crane were worth $8,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Crane by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 3,533 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Crane by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Welch Group LLC raised its position in Crane by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 6,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Crane by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 27,491 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,248,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Vertical Research upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Crane from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.50.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR traded down $7.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $151.61. The company had a trading volume of 637,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,744. Crane has a twelve month low of $82.57 and a twelve month high of $162.28. The stock has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.33.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.06. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Crane’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

About Crane

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.