Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,720,000 shares, an increase of 7.9% from the May 31st total of 2,520,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 967,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Crown Stock Performance

Crown stock opened at $72.60 on Thursday. Crown has a 52 week low of $69.61 and a 52 week high of $96.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.12 and a 200-day moving average of $81.90.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Crown had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 23.95%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Crown will post 5.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 13th. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Crown in a research report on Monday, March 18th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Crown from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Crown from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Crown from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Crown from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James H. Miller sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total transaction of $746,370.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,068,470.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Crown news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $637,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 608,678 shares in the company, valued at $51,737,630. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James H. Miller sold 9,000 shares of Crown stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.93, for a total value of $746,370.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,884 shares in the company, valued at $1,068,470.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,300,420 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crown

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCK. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Crown in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crown in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Crown during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crown in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Crown by 190.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Crown Company Profile

Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures.