Maven Securities LTD Boosts Stock Position in Crane $CR

Key Points

• Maven Securities LTD significantly increased its stake in Crane by 208.3%, acquiring an additional 6,144 shares, bringing its total holdings to 9,094 shares valued at approximately $1.39 million.
• Several brokerages have revised their price targets for Crane, with DA Davidson raising its target from $200 to $230 and issuing a "buy" rating, contributing to a current average target price of $221.50.
• Crane recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.5%, with a payout ratio of 15.31%.

Maven Securities LTD boosted its holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR - Free Report) by 208.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,094 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 6,144 shares during the quarter. Maven Securities LTD's holdings in Crane were worth $1,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Crane by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,196 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in Crane by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in Crane by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,037 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Crane by 0.5% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,326 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,960,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA increased its holdings in Crane by 2.7% in the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 3,686 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Crane Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:CR traded up $5.4760 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $194.1760. 342,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 310,563. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Crane has a 12-month low of $127.04 and a 12-month high of $203.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $189.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.08.

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

Crane Announces Dividend

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

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.