Crown Holdings stock is up 22% in the last month
Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCK) stock was last seen up 2.7% at $118.81, extending this week's post-earnings pop as analyst notes continue to tumble in. The company posted a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat on Tuesday, Feb. 8, and since then six analysts have lifted their price targets. Today, three price-target hikes have been recorded, including one from Citigroup to $143 from $135. The equity surged to a record high of $188.73 during yesterday's session, and it's looking to log its fourth-straight daily win, as well as its biggest weekly jump this year.
All these price-target hikes have put the stock's 12-month consensus price target at $139.75, which is an 18.6% premium to current levels. Meanwhile, all but two of the 14 analysts in coverage consider CCK a "buy" or better.
Short interest has risen along with the stock, which boasts a 22% year-over-year lead. In fact, short interest added 40.1% in the last two reporting periods, though it still makes up a slim 2.5% of the stock's available float.
Options traders have rarely been more bearish, and unwinding of some of this pessimism could put additional wind at the stock's back. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the equity sports a 50-day put/call volume ratio of 5.88, which sits in the 98th percentile of its 12-month range. In other words, long puts have been picked up at a much quicker-than-usual clip during the past 10 weeks.
Moreover, between fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2020 Crown Holdings’ revenues and net income increased 3.8% and 32%, respectively. However, in fiscal 2021 CCK's revenues declined 2% and its net income decreased by $1.14 billion, reporting $560 million in net losses. Nonetheless, the packaging name is expected to bounce back in fiscal 2023, with analysts estimating 14.37% earnings growth and 5.5% revenue growth.
Crown stock also still has a decent valuation despite its strong bullish run over the past year. CCK currently trades at a price-sales ratio of 1.33 and a forward price-earnings ratio of 14.97, which are both fair values for a company with limited growth potential based on its industry. In addition, Crown Holdings offers a forward dividend of $0.80 with a dividend yield of 0.7%. In general, Crown stock’s biggest downside is its balance sheet which holds $531 million in cash and $6.26 billion in total debt, potentially leaving CCK in a vulnerable position in the long-term.