Crane (NYSE:CR) Position Increased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,416 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.18% of Crane worth $11,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Crane in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,000. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth approximately $246,000. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in Crane in the fourth quarter worth approximately $247,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Vertical Research raised Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $137.00.

Crane Stock Down 0.4 %

CR opened at $139.50 on Thursday. Crane has a 1-year low of $67.28 and a 1-year high of $146.29. 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 capitalization of $7.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $132.10 and a 200-day moving average of $117.54.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $565.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $546.39 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a $0.205 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.98%.

Crane 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.