Crane (NYSE:CR) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Crane (NYSE:CR) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 627,100 shares, an increase of 31.8% from the January 31st total of 475,800 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 262,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of Crane stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. The trade was a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 487.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crane Stock Down 3.0 %

CR traded down $4.76 on Tuesday, hitting $152.03. The company had a trading volume of 270,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 227,873. 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 52-week low of $123.82 and a 52-week high of $188.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.18%.

Crane Company 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.