Crane (NYSE:CR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Crane (NYSE:CR) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 716,800 shares, an increase of 15.6% from the October 31st total of 620,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 237,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Crane by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,017 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $952,000 after buying an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $86,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,459,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Crane by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,530 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Crane by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,336 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Crane from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $176.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.00.

Crane Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of CR stock traded down $2.47 on Tuesday, reaching $178.77. 262,106 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 234,257. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. Crane has a one year low of $102.80 and a one year high of $188.52. The company has a market cap of $10.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.00, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $165.53 and a 200-day moving average of $154.35.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The conglomerate reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $597.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $594.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.06%.

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.