Fractal Investments LLC Invests $579,000 in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Fractal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Crane (NYSE:CR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,900 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 99.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,180,000. Covenant Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth $255,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth $264,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Crane in the third quarter valued at about $1,297,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE:CR traded up $4.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.25. The company had a trading volume of 496,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 242,487. Crane has a 12-month low of $67.28 and a 12-month high of $143.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.55, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.65.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $565.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $546.39 million. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CR shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Crane from $110.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Crane from $150.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Vertical Research raised shares of Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Crane from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.00.

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.