Crane (NYSE:CR) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Crane (NYSE:CR) was upgraded by stock analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $190.00 price objective on the conglomerate’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $157.00. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 18.03% from the stock’s current price.

CR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Crane from $170.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $186.00 target price on shares of Crane and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.20.

Crane Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of CR opened at $160.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.06. Crane has a 1 year low of $127.04 and a 1 year high of $188.52. The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a PE ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The company had revenue of $557.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $546.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Crane by 487.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Crane by 104.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Crane by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Crane by 31.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 569 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Crane

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.