Wall Street Zen Upgrades Crane (NYSE:CR) to Buy

Crane (NYSE:CR) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

CR has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Crane in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Crane from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $238.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Crane in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $215.00 price objective on Crane and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.00.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock opened at $171.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $197.58 and a 200-day moving average of $189.34. The company has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 52 week low of $127.04 and a 52 week high of $214.31.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $572.16 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Crane’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Crane

In related news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 2,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.95, for a total transaction of $543,851.35. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 10,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,148,546.05. This trade represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jennifer Pollino acquired 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $184.29 per share, with a total value of $276,435.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 5,464 shares of company stock worth $987,470. 2.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Crane in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. TD Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Crane during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Crane during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Crane by 57.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 180 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Crane in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.