Crane Company Stock Downgraded (CR)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Crane Company (NYSE:CR) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in net income, revenue growth and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, disappointing return on equity and feeble growth in the company's earnings per share.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Machinery industry average. The net income increased by 24.0% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $50.44 million to $62.56 million.
• CR's revenue growth trails the industry average of 17.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly increased by 2.2%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• Reflecting the weaknesses we have cited, including the decline in the company's earnings per share, CR has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 24.61% from its price level of one year ago. Looking ahead, other than the push or pull of the broad market, we do not see anything in the company's numbers that may help reverse the decline experienced over the past 12 months. Despite the past decline, the stock is still selling for more than most others in its industry.
• Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Machinery industry and the overall market, CRANE CO's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

Crane Co. manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in five segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Engineered Materials, Merchandising Systems, Fluid Handling, and Controls. The company has a P/E ratio of 74.3, equal to the average industrial industry P/E ratio and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Crane has a market cap of $2.23 billion and is part of the industrial goods sector and industrial industry. Shares are down 20% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

You can view the full Crane Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Crane Company click any of the following:

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