Royce & Associates LP Sells 37,989 Shares of Crane NXT, Co. $CXT

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 333,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,989 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 0.58% of Crane NXT worth $22,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CXT. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Crane NXT during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Crane NXT by 141.6% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane NXT during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Crane NXT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane NXT during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.49% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. CJS Securities raised Crane NXT to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $73.00 target price on shares of Crane NXT in a research report on Friday, February 13th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Crane NXT in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Northland Securities set a $62.00 price objective on shares of Crane NXT in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Crane NXT from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.60.

Crane NXT Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CXT opened at $48.28 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Crane NXT, Co. has a 1 year low of $41.54 and a 1 year high of $69.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24 and a beta of 1.18.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. Crane NXT had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 8.76%.The company had revenue of $476.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $450.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Crane NXT, Co. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane NXT Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from Crane NXT’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Crane NXT’s payout ratio is presently 28.69%.

About Crane NXT

Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers’ important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions. The Crane Currency segment provides advanced security solutions based on proprietary technology for securing physical products, including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products.