Crane (NYSE:CR) Short Interest Up 29.2% in May

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 644,900 shares, an increase of 29.2% from the May 15th total of 499,200 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 353,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Crane Trading Down 2.0%

CR stock traded down $3.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $178.78. The company had a trading volume of 431,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 276,137. The stock has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.68, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. Crane has a 52 week low of $127.04 and a 52 week high of $191.00. 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 50 day moving average price is $165.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $161.49.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $557.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $546.93 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Crane's payout ratio is 15.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Crane from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. UBS Group set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Crane and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Crane presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $197.75.

Insider Transactions at Crane

In other Crane news, SVP Jason D. Feldman sold 1,300 shares of Crane stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.10, for a total transaction of $230,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,796 shares in the company, valued at $1,734,871.60. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crane

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,532,000. Aviva PLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $538,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Crane during the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,890,000. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Crane by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 135,191 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,515,000 after acquiring an additional 2,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crane by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 323,272 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $49,057,000 after purchasing an additional 8,552 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the company's stock.

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.

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