EntryPoint Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 3,401 Crane (NYSE:CR)

EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Crane during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new position in shares of Crane during the third quarter worth $45,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Crane during the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Crane by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 372 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Crane in the 3rd quarter worth $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of CR opened at $158.93 on Tuesday. Crane has a 52 week low of $128.50 and a 52 week high of $188.52. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.16 and a 200-day moving average of $161.77.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.07. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.23 dividend. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 18.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CR shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Crane in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Crane from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total transaction of $392,011.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 32,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Crane Company Profile

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.