Boothbay Fund Management LLC Purchases 4,221 Shares of Crane $CR

Key Points

• Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Crane by 5.7%, owning about 0.14% of the company worth $12.03 million after purchasing an additional 4,221 shares.
• Multiple analysts have revised their price targets for Crane, with Deutsche Bank raising it from $187.00 to $226.00, indicating strong confidence in the stock’s potential for growth.
• Crane recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, representing a 0.5% dividend yield, set to be paid on September 10th to stockholders of record by August 29th.

Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 78,525 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 4,221 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Crane worth $12,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Crane by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,037 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Crane by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 14,087 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 4,408 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the fourth quarter worth about $5,532,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Crane by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 293,542 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $44,545,000 after purchasing an additional 6,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Crane by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,202 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crane

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 20,791 shares of Crane stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.74, for a total transaction of $4,007,257.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 33,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,461,801.24. The trade was a 38.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Crane Stock Down 0.1%

CR traded down $0.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $184.10. The stock had a trading volume of 386,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 311,890. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $190.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.19. Crane has a one year low of $127.04 and a one year high of $203.89.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $577.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $567.70 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The company's revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.500-5.800 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CR shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Crane from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Crane from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Crane from $187.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Crane from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Crane in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.20.

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.