Crane (NYSE:CR) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Crane (NYSE:CR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $214.61 and last traded at $214.3450, with a volume of 109161 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $209.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Crane from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $226.33.

Crane Trading Up 3.1%

The stock has a market cap of $12.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $185.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.32.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $696.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $672.74 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Crane’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. Crane’s payout ratio is 18.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other news, Director Susan D. Lynch acquired 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $177.38 per share, with a total value of $26,607.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,630.60. This represents a 68.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Crane by 57.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Company Profile

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.