Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Crane NXT “Moderate Buy”: Of eight analysts, five recommend buying, one strongly recommends buying, and two rate it hold; the average one-year price target is $66.83.
• Quarterly results topped expectations: Crane NXT reported earnings of $1.28 per share versus a $1.21 consensus estimate and revenue of $497.1 million, up 11.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, equivalent to $0.72 annually and a 1.3% yield.

Shares of Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $66.83.

CXT has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $68.00 price target on shares of Crane NXT in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Crane NXT in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crane NXT from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Crane NXT in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Finally, Northland Securities set a $65.00 target price on Crane NXT in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane NXT

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Crane NXT in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,066,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Crane NXT during the 2nd quarter valued at $329,797,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Crane NXT by 35.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 176,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,156,000 after acquiring an additional 46,465 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Crane NXT by 38.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 449,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,226,000 after acquiring an additional 125,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in Crane NXT by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,185,663 shares of the company's stock worth $55,845,000 after acquiring an additional 19,402 shares during the period. 77.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crane NXT Stock Performance

CXT traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.91. 366,621 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 759,936. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.30. Crane NXT has a 12 month low of $35.71 and a 12 month high of $63.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $497.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $495.00 million. Crane NXT had a net margin of 6.91% and a return on equity of 19.55%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Crane NXT will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane NXT Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 9th. Investors of record on Monday, November 30th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 30th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Crane NXT's payout ratio is currently 32.58%.

About Crane NXT

Crane NXT is a global industrial technology company focused on authentication and automated payment technologies. It designs and manufactures products and systems used to protect, manage and authenticate currency, goods and transactions. Its offerings include banknote security features, currency-processing equipment and payment and merchandising technologies, such as cash and cashless payment systems for vending and other self-service applications. The company also provides authentication solutions that help governments and businesses identify counterfeit currency and products.

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