Crane (NYSE:CR) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Crane (NYSE:CR) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

CR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.80.

Crane Stock Down 0.5 %

CR stock opened at $171.88 on Thursday. Crane has a twelve month low of $118.48 and a twelve month high of $188.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $161.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.63.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CR. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Crane by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 655,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $103,748,000 after buying an additional 91,029 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Crane by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 585,718 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $92,707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,188 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Crane by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 446,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Crane by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 413,723 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $62,782,000 after buying an additional 29,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,127,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.