Over the past three months, shares of Crane (NYSE:CR) increased by 11.74%. Before having a look at the importance of debt, let us look at how much debt Crane has.
Crane's Debt
Based on Crane's balance sheet as of November 2, 2021, long-term debt is at $842.20 million and current debt is at $0.00, amounting to $842.20 million in total debt. Adjusted for $450.80 million in cash-equivalents, the company's net debt is at $391.40 million.
Let's define some of the terms we used in the paragraph above. Current debt is the portion of a company's debt which is due within 1 year, while long-term debt is the portion due in more than 1 year. Cash equivalents include cash and any liquid securities with maturity periods of 90 days or less. Total debt equals current debt plus long-term debt minus cash equivalents.
To understand the degree of financial leverage a company has, shareholders look at the debt ratio. Considering Crane's $4.47 billion in total assets, the debt-ratio is at 0.19. As a rule of thumb, a debt-ratio more than one indicates that a considerable portion of debt is funded by assets. A higher debt-ratio can also imply that the company might be putting itself at risk for default, if interest rates were to increase. However, debt-ratios vary widely across different industries. A debt ratio of 25% might be higher for one industry and normal for another.
Why Shareholders Look At Debt?
Debt is an important factor in the capital structure of a company, and can help it attain growth. Debt usually has a relatively lower financing cost than equity, which makes it an attractive option for executives.
However, interest-payment obligations can have an adverse impact on the cash-flow of the company. Having financial leverage also allows companies to use additional capital for business operations, allowing equity owners to retain excess profit, generated by the debt capital.
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