Crane (NYSE:CR) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Crane (NYSE:CR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $162.35 and last traded at $162.35, with a volume of 218744 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $158.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Crane from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.17.

Crane Trading Up 0.3 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.95. 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 company has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.77.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is 21.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Crane by 17.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,983 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,372,000 after buying an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 6,710 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter worth $895,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth $25,000. 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.