Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) Short Interest Up 6.3% in September

Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,520,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the September 15th total of 2,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,100,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Crown Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:CCK traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $93.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,402,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,190. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Crown has a 1 year low of $69.61 and a 1 year high of $96.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.26 and a 200-day moving average of $84.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.86.

Crown (NYSE:CCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.22. Crown had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 23.96%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. Crown’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Crown will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Crown Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Crown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Crown from $88.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Crown from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Crown from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Crown in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Crown from $106.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crown

In other Crown news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of Crown stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.85, for a total transaction of $643,875.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 586,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,323,381.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.85, for a total value of $643,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 586,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,323,381.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy J. Donahue sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.03, for a total transaction of $1,275,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 593,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,480,440.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 38,506 shares of company stock valued at $3,392,349. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crown

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown during the first quarter worth about $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Crown by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Crown in the first quarter worth $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Crown by 190.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crown during the first quarter valued at $41,000. 90.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crown Company Profile

Crown Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the packaging business in the United States and internationally. It operates through Americas Beverage, European Beverage, Asia Pacific, and Transit Packaging segments. The company manufactures and sells recyclable aluminum beverage cans and ends, glass bottles, steel crowns, aluminum caps, non-beverage cans, and aerosol cans and closures.