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Crane (CR) to Benefit From Buyouts and Growth Investments

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On Nov 17, we issued an updated research report on Crane Co. (CR - Free Report) .

In the past month, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has returned 21.3% compared with the industry’s growth of 12%.

Present Scenario

Crane is well positioned to benefit from its exposure in diverse end markets along with the focus on growth investments, product development, repositioning and cost reduction initiatives in the quarters ahead.

Also, the company’s buyout of CIRCOR International’s Instrumentation & Sampling business (January 2020) has been augmenting its process valve business. In addition, the Cummins Allison buyout (December 2019) has been adding value to the Crane Payment Innovations business. Notably, acquired assets boosted its sales by 6.8%, 6% and 7.7% in the first, second and third quarters of 2020, respectively. Also, for 2020, Crane expects acquisitions to boost its sales by 7%.

Moreover, the company remains committed to rewarding shareholders handsomely through dividend payments and share buybacks. In the first nine months of 2020, it used $75.4 million for paying out dividends, and repurchasing shares worth $70 million. It’s worth mentioning that the quarterly dividend rate was hiked by 10% in January 2020.

However, softness across its end markets on account of the coronavirus outbreak-led issues remains concerning for its top-line performance in the near term. For 2020, Crane expects net sales of $2,900-$2.950 million, suggesting a decline of 11% from the year-ago reported figure. Core sales are predicted to decline 17-19% year over year.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the same space are 3M Company (MMM - Free Report) , ITT Inc. (ITT - Free Report) and Danaher Corporation (DHR - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

3M delivered an earnings surprise of 1.85%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

ITT delivered an earnings surprise of 22.39%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Danaher delivered an earnings surprise of 17.00%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

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3M Company (MMM) - free report >>

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Crane Company (CR) - free report >>

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