Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Crane NXT a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from seven firms (1 sell, 2 hold, 3 buy, 1 strong buy) with an average 1‑year price target of $68.60.
• Crane NXT beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.27 EPS (vs. $1.25 est.) and $476.9M revenue (vs. $450.53M est.), with revenue up 19.5% year‑over‑year.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.18 ($0.72 annualized), implying a 1.6% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 28.69%.

Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $68.60.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Crane NXT in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Northland Securities set a $62.00 target price on shares of Crane NXT in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Crane NXT in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $58.00 price target on shares of Crane NXT in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $73.00 price target on shares of Crane NXT in a research report on Friday, February 13th.

Crane NXT Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Crane NXT stock opened at $44.34 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $45.08 and its 200 day moving average is $51.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Crane NXT has a 1 year low of $39.23 and a 1 year high of $69.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66 and a beta of 1.21.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.02. Crane NXT had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The business had revenue of $476.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $450.53 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Crane NXT will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane NXT Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 28th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Crane NXT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Crane NXT's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.69%.

Institutional Trading of Crane NXT

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Crane NXT in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,384,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Crane NXT by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,256,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,259,000 after purchasing an additional 89,049 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Crane NXT by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,216,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,276,000 after purchasing an additional 49,669 shares in the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Crane NXT during the 3rd quarter valued at $9,923,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Crane NXT by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,005,746 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,805,000 after purchasing an additional 64,523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.49% of the company's stock.

About Crane NXT

Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers' important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions. The Crane Currency segment provides advanced security solutions based on proprietary technology for securing physical products, including banknotes, consumer goods, and industrial products.

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