Short Interest in Crane (NYSE:CR) Rises By 45.4%

Crane (NYSE:CR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 620,300 shares, an increase of 45.4% from the October 15th total of 426,600 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 217,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Crane from $168.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crane has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.33.

Crane Stock Performance

Shares of CR stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $173.50. The stock had a trading volume of 121,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 232,733. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $102.80 and a fifty-two week high of $180.87. The firm has a market cap of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 38.22, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. 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 50-day simple moving average is $158.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.35.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $594.45 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Crane by 4.3% in the first quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 193,053 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,087,000 after purchasing an additional 7,945 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane by 13.7% during the first quarter. Castleark Management LLC now owns 33,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,508,000 after purchasing an additional 4,020 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Crane by 70.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 75,410 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,190,000 after purchasing an additional 31,069 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Crane by 103.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,348,451 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $182,216,000 after purchasing an additional 685,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane by 11.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 192,452 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $27,902,000 after purchasing an additional 20,518 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Crane

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.