Crown Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CCK)

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 5,775 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 232% compared to the typical volume of 1,742 put options.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.96, for a total transaction of $682,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 651,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,238,973.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCK. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Crown during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Crown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Crown during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Crown by 190.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Crown during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Crown Price Performance

Shares of CCK opened at $78.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.15. Crown has a twelve month low of $69.61 and a twelve month high of $96.35.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Crown had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 25.75%. Crown’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Crown will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crown Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Crown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on CCK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Crown from $93.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Crown in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Crown from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Crown in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Crown from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.36.

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.