Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Buys 17,000 Shares of Crane (NYSE:CR)

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) by 200.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,500 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,000 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Crane were worth $1,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Crane by 158.6% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,066,021 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $145,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267,104 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Crane by 77.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,410,330 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $180,078,000 after buying an additional 1,048,595 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 110.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,440,120 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $102,501,000 after buying an additional 756,198 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Crane by 70.0% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,501,190 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $113,027,000 after acquiring an additional 618,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Crane by 8,917.0% in the second quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 596,837 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $53,067,000 after acquiring an additional 590,218 shares during the last quarter. 85.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of Crane stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $106.43. 34,870 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 306,249. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.83. Crane has a 52 week low of $67.28 and a 52 week high of $106.69. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.16. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company had revenue of $530.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $509.32 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Crane in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Crane in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $118.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Crane from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, September 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.43.

About Crane

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. The company has three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials. The Aerospace & Electronics segment supplies critical components and systems, including original equipment and aftermarket parts, primarily for the commercial aerospace, and the military aerospace, defense, and space markets.