Crane (NYSE:CR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Crane (NYSE:CR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $224.00.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 target price on Crane and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $238.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, January 29th.

Crane Stock Up 1.0%

Crane stock opened at $200.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.82. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $127.04 and a fifty-two week high of $214.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.10. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $572.16 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.32%.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, CEO Max H. Mitchell purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $183.71 per share, for a total transaction of $183,710.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 410,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,443,634.57. This represents a 0.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jennifer Pollino bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $184.29 per share, for a total transaction of $276,435.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,435. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased 5,464 shares of company stock valued at $987,470 over the last three months. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CR. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth about $1,651,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Crane by 276.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 5,402 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 3,967 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Crane by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 489,810 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $90,196,000 after acquiring an additional 37,026 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Crane by 86.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 136,413 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,119,000 after acquiring an additional 63,401 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crane by 5,159.8% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 232,851 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $44,216,000 after acquiring an additional 228,424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

About Crane

Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.