Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CXT. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crane NXT in the third quarter worth $28,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crane NXT during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crane NXT in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. CI Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crane NXT in the third quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Crane NXT during the third quarter worth about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.49% of the company's stock.

Crane NXT Price Performance

NYSE:CXT traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $62.65. 167,330 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,520. The stock's 50-day moving average is $60.42 and its 200-day moving average is $56.71. Crane NXT, Co. has a twelve month low of $46.14 and a twelve month high of $63.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.07. Crane NXT had a net margin of 13.53% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The firm had revenue of $356.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.89 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Crane NXT's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Crane NXT, Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane NXT Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Crane NXT's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. Crane NXT's payout ratio is currently 19.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CXT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Crane NXT from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Northland Securities began coverage on shares of Crane NXT in a report on Monday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock.

Crane NXT Company Profile

Crane NXT, Co operates as an industrial technology company that provides technology solutions to secure, detect, and authenticate customers' important assets. The company operates through Crane Payment Innovations and Crane Currency segments. The Crane Payment Innovations segment offers electronic equipment and associated software, as well as advanced automation solutions, processing systems, field service solutions, remote diagnostics, and productivity software solutions.