Short Interest in Crane (NYSE:CR) Rises By 45.4%

Crane (NYSE:CR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 620,300 shares, an increase of 45.4% from the October 15th total of 426,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 217,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CR. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Crane from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crane presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.33.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE:CR traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $173.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 121,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,733. Crane has a 12-month low of $102.80 and a 12-month high of $180.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $158.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.35. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.22, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $594.45 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Crane’s payout ratio is currently 18.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CR. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Crane by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 193,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,087,000 after acquiring an additional 7,945 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Crane by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 33,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,508,000 after acquiring an additional 4,020 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Crane by 70.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 75,410 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,190,000 after acquiring an additional 31,069 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Crane by 103.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,348,451 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $182,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,230 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Crane by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 192,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $27,902,000 after purchasing an additional 20,518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.