Crown (NYSE:CCK) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $103.61 and last traded at $103.28, with a volume of 610937 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $101.04.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CCK. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Crown from $89.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Crown from $107.00 to $97.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Crown from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Crown from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Crown from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Crown has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.45.

Crown Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $95.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.65.

Crown (NYSE:CCK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The industrial products company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. Crown had a return on equity of 26.98% and a net margin of 4.62%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Crown Holdings, Inc. will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. Crown's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crown news, VP Christy L. Kalaus sold 2,130 shares of Crown stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.41, for a total value of $211,743.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $447,345. The trade was a 32.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Gerard H. Gifford sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total value of $679,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 135,014 shares in the company, valued at $13,096,358. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crown

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Crown by 47.6% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 332 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crown by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 356 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Crown by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Crown by 161.2% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 397 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in Crown by 74.4% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 443 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 90.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Crown

Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures.