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Here's Why You Should Add Crane (CR) Stock to Your Portfolio
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We issued an updated research report on Crane Co. (CR - Free Report) on Aug 28.
The company, with a market capitalization of roughly $5.5 billion, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Its earnings are projected to grow 9.6% in the next three to five years.
Let’s delve deeper and discuss why investors should consider adding Crane’s stock to their portfolio.
Financial & Share Price Performances, Earnings Estimate Revision: Crane’s financial performance has remained better than expected for quite some time now. Notably, its average earnings surprise for the last four quarters was a positive 3.03%. This average includes the impact of 4.44% earnings beat recorded in the second quarter of 2018.
We believe that solid financial results have been one of the reasons for the company’s stock price rally of 8.8% in the past three months. This return comfortably outperformed 3% increase recorded by the industry.
The company’s Zack Consensus Estimate for earnings is currently pegged at $5.76 for 2018 and $6.44 for 2019, reflecting growth of 2.3% and 0.9% from the respective 60-day-ago tallies. Earnings estimates for the third quarter of 2018 are $1.46, representing growth of 0.7% over the 60-day-ago tally.
Diversification a Boon: Operations in a number of geographical locations, including North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, benefit Crane by shielding it from losses, arising from any particular operating area. Likewise, serving customers in various end markets like aerospace, electronics, hydrocarbon processing, petrochemical, chemical, power generation, automated merchandising, transportation and others is a boon for the company.
Dividends & Acquisitions: Crane is an ardent believer in rewarding shareholders handsomely, especially through dividend payments. In the first half of 2018, the company used $41.8 million cash for distributing dividends to shareholders. It’s worth mentioning here that the company has hiked its quarterly dividend rate by 6% in January 2018.
Another interesting aspect about Crane is its acquisitive nature.
Over time, the company has solidified its product portfolio and leveraged business opportunities through the addition of assets. Here, the buyout of Westlock Controls in May 2018 is worth mentioning. Westlock Controls manufactures and distributes switchboxes, position transmitters and other solutions for use in networking, monitoring, and controlling process valves.
Moreover, in January 2018, the company acquired Crane Currency. Since acquired, the buyout has been strengthening its business in the currency and payments market. Earnings per share accretion of 40 cents are predicted to be realized from this buyout in 2018, marking an improvement over 30 cents estimated earlier.
Outlook for Near Term: Crane anticipates gaining from its organic growth opportunities — including higher demand for productivity solutions in Payment & Merchandising Technologies, recovering orders in Fluid Handling, and high growth aerospace programs in Aerospace & Electronics. Moreover, synergistic gains from Crane Currency acquisition, repositioning initiatives and favorable tax rates after the implementation of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017 will be a boon.
In 2018, earnings per share are anticipated to be $5.60-$5.80, above $5.45-$5.65 predicted earlier. Free cash flow projection has also been increased from $240-$270 million to $250-$280 million. Foreign currency movements will be a tailwind.
Other Stocks to Consider
Other top-ranked stocks in the industry are Federal Signal Corporation (FSS - Free Report) , Macquarie Infrastructure Company and Carlisle Companies Incorporated (CSL - Free Report) . While Federal Signal sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Macquarie Infrastructure and Carlisle Companies carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
In the past 60 days, earnings estimates on Federal Signal and Carlisle Companies improved for the current year and the next year, while that for Macquarie Infrastructure remained stable for the current year and improved for the next year. Further, earnings surprise for the last four quarters was a positive 22.48% for Federal Signal, 8.05% for Macquarie Infrastructure and 12.85% for Carlisle Companies.
Today's Stocks From Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6% and +67.1%.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
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Here's Why You Should Add Crane (CR) Stock to Your Portfolio
We issued an updated research report on Crane Co. (CR - Free Report) on Aug 28.
The company, with a market capitalization of roughly $5.5 billion, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Its earnings are projected to grow 9.6% in the next three to five years.
Let’s delve deeper and discuss why investors should consider adding Crane’s stock to their portfolio.
Financial & Share Price Performances, Earnings Estimate Revision: Crane’s financial performance has remained better than expected for quite some time now. Notably, its average earnings surprise for the last four quarters was a positive 3.03%. This average includes the impact of 4.44% earnings beat recorded in the second quarter of 2018.
We believe that solid financial results have been one of the reasons for the company’s stock price rally of 8.8% in the past three months. This return comfortably outperformed 3% increase recorded by the industry.
The company’s Zack Consensus Estimate for earnings is currently pegged at $5.76 for 2018 and $6.44 for 2019, reflecting growth of 2.3% and 0.9% from the respective 60-day-ago tallies. Earnings estimates for the third quarter of 2018 are $1.46, representing growth of 0.7% over the 60-day-ago tally.
Diversification a Boon: Operations in a number of geographical locations, including North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, benefit Crane by shielding it from losses, arising from any particular operating area. Likewise, serving customers in various end markets like aerospace, electronics, hydrocarbon processing, petrochemical, chemical, power generation, automated merchandising, transportation and others is a boon for the company.
Dividends & Acquisitions: Crane is an ardent believer in rewarding shareholders handsomely, especially through dividend payments. In the first half of 2018, the company used $41.8 million cash for distributing dividends to shareholders. It’s worth mentioning here that the company has hiked its quarterly dividend rate by 6% in January 2018.
Another interesting aspect about Crane is its acquisitive nature.
Over time, the company has solidified its product portfolio and leveraged business opportunities through the addition of assets. Here, the buyout of Westlock Controls in May 2018 is worth mentioning. Westlock Controls manufactures and distributes switchboxes, position transmitters and other solutions for use in networking, monitoring, and controlling process valves.
Moreover, in January 2018, the company acquired Crane Currency. Since acquired, the buyout has been strengthening its business in the currency and payments market. Earnings per share accretion of 40 cents are predicted to be realized from this buyout in 2018, marking an improvement over 30 cents estimated earlier.
Outlook for Near Term: Crane anticipates gaining from its organic growth opportunities — including higher demand for productivity solutions in Payment & Merchandising Technologies, recovering orders in Fluid Handling, and high growth aerospace programs in Aerospace & Electronics. Moreover, synergistic gains from Crane Currency acquisition, repositioning initiatives and favorable tax rates after the implementation of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017 will be a boon.
In 2018, earnings per share are anticipated to be $5.60-$5.80, above $5.45-$5.65 predicted earlier. Free cash flow projection has also been increased from $240-$270 million to $250-$280 million. Foreign currency movements will be a tailwind.
Other Stocks to Consider
Other top-ranked stocks in the industry are Federal Signal Corporation (FSS - Free Report) , Macquarie Infrastructure Company and Carlisle Companies Incorporated (CSL - Free Report) . While Federal Signal sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Macquarie Infrastructure and Carlisle Companies carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
In the past 60 days, earnings estimates on Federal Signal and Carlisle Companies improved for the current year and the next year, while that for Macquarie Infrastructure remained stable for the current year and improved for the next year. Further, earnings surprise for the last four quarters was a positive 22.48% for Federal Signal, 8.05% for Macquarie Infrastructure and 12.85% for Carlisle Companies.
Today's Stocks From Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6% and +67.1%.
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.
See Them Free>>