Crane (NYSE:CR) Short Interest Up 9.4% in January

Crane (NYSE:CR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 475,800 shares, an increase of 9.4% from the January 15th total of 434,800 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 266,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Crane Stock Performance

NYSE:CR traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $171.83. 220,963 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 266,855. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.20. Crane has a 12 month low of $118.48 and a 12 month high of $188.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Crane (NYSE:CR) last announced 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 return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Crane’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Crane’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crane news, VP Alejandro Alcala sold 2,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.96, for a total value of $392,011.28. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 32,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,635,354.48. This represents a 6.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crane

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Crane by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,037 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Crane by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 460,392 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $69,864,000 after acquiring an additional 79,481 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Crane by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 227,527 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,527,000 after acquiring an additional 15,080 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Crane by 250.6% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 817 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crane by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 74,304 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $11,276,000 after buying an additional 19,638 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CR. StockNews.com raised Crane from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Crane from $152.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Crane from $176.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Crane from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.80.

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.