Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Purchases New Holdings in Crane (NYSE:CR)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new position in Crane (NYSE:CR) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,477 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crane by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Crane by 1.3% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,176,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crane by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Crane by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 150.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 218 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Crane Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:CR opened at $144.32 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.38. Crane has a fifty-two week low of $82.57 and a fifty-two week high of $162.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.77.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The conglomerate reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.06. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. The firm had revenue of $581.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $568.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Crane’s payout ratio is presently 21.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on CR. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Crane from $120.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Crane from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Crane from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Crane from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

Crane 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.