Capital World Investors Buys 48,679 Shares of Crane $CR

Key Points

• Capital World Investors increased its stake in Crane by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 48,679 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 2,993,123 shares worth about $552 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains largely positive: Crane currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $226.33, even though a couple of firms recently downgraded the stock to Hold.
• Crane posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.65 versus estimates of $1.44 and revenue of $696.4 million, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.255 per share.

Capital World Investors grew its stake in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,993,123 shares of the conglomerate's stock after acquiring an additional 48,679 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned 5.20% of Crane worth $552,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 314.8% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 74,801 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $13,774,000 after purchasing an additional 56,768 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 44.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 183,787 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $33,843,000 after purchasing an additional 56,324 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 23.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 33,480 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $6,165,000 after purchasing an additional 6,258 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,709,000. Finally, Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,640,000. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Crane from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Crane in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Crane from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Crane from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $226.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan D. Lynch purchased 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $177.38 per share, with a total value of $26,607.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,630.60. This represents a 68.18% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.12% of the company's stock.

Crane Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:CR opened at $188.75 on Monday. Crane has a 52 week low of $159.58 and a 52 week high of $214.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $179.76 and a 200 day moving average of $187.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.00, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.12.

Crane (NYSE:CR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $696.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $672.74 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Crane's revenue for the quarter was up 24.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. Crane has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.650-6.850 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Crane's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.35%.

Crane Company Profile

Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.

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