Crane Misses on the Top and Bottom Lines (CR)

Crane Misses on the Top and Bottom Lines

Crane (NYSE: CR ) reported earnings Jan. 23. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Crane missed on revenues and missed on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded, and earnings per share shrank to a loss.

Margins dropped across the board.

Revenue details
Crane tallied revenue of $632 million. The four analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected net sales of $650 million. Sales were 10% higher than the prior-year quarter's $574 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.88. The six earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.90 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS were -$2.16 for Q4 against $0.67 per share for the prior-year quarter.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was -30.5%, 6,340 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -30.5%, 4,100 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was -19.8%, 2,670 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $653 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.89.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.7 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.87.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 129 members out of 140 rating the stock outperform, and 11 members rating it underperform. Among 54 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 51 give Crane a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Crane is outperform, with an average price target of $52.29.

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Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor of Motley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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