Crane (NYSE:CR) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Crane (NYSE:CR) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $156.96 and last traded at $156.83, with a volume of 79958 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $153.93.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Crane’s payout ratio is 21.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on CR shares. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Crane from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Crane from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crane has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.50.

Crane Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $146.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.12. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.39 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. Crane’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Crane by 150.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in Crane during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Crane by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crane by 29.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter valued at $90,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.