Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, a growth of 9.2% from the May 31st total of 1,190,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 618,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Carpenter Technology

In other news, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.11, for a total transaction of $81,892.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,183.99. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Carpenter Technology news, Director Steven E. Karol sold 31,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.57, for a total transaction of $3,117,670.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 244,126 shares in the company, valued at $24,551,751.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.11, for a total value of $81,892.22. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,175,183.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 59,678 shares of company stock worth $6,261,693 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRS. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. acquired a new position in Carpenter Technology in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Carpenter Technology during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 469.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carpenter Technology Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CRS opened at $106.54 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $103.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.81. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.51 and a beta of 1.44. Carpenter Technology has a 1 year low of $51.94 and a 1 year high of $112.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $684.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $707.73 million. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 4.83%. The firm’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 23rd were issued a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from Carpenter Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 22nd. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is presently 30.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Carpenter Technology in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Northcoast Research reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.60.

About Carpenter Technology

Carpenter Technology Corporation engages in the manufacture, fabrication, and distribution of specialty metals in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mexico, Canada, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Specialty Alloys Operations and Performance Engineered Products. The company offers specialty alloys, including titanium alloys, powder metals, stainless steels, alloy steels, and tool steels, as well as additives, and metal powders and parts.