Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Crane NXT, Co. (NYSE:CXT) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $65.53 and last traded at $65.57, with a volume of 28665 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.72.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CXT. Northland Securities reduced their target price on shares of Crane NXT from $96.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W raised shares of Crane NXT to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Crane NXT from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Crane NXT in a report on Monday, September 30th.

Crane NXT Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.32 and a 200 day moving average of $58.26.

Crane NXT (NYSE:CXT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $403.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $392.44 million. Crane NXT had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Crane NXT, Co. will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane NXT Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Crane NXT’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crane NXT

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Crane NXT by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Crane NXT by 5.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 54,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Crane NXT by 3.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,084,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,626,000 after purchasing an additional 33,460 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crane NXT by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crane NXT by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. 77.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.