Zacks Research Has Positive Outlook for CRAI FY2024 Earnings

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of CRA International in a research report issued on Thursday, November 21st. Zacks Research analyst S. Dey now forecasts that the business services provider will earn $7.06 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $6.80. The consensus estimate for CRA International’s current full-year earnings is $7.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CRA International’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.50 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.83 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.84 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.66 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.69 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.02 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.92 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.73 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.80 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.38 EPS.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $167.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.83 million. CRA International had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 24.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS.

CRAI has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com downgraded CRA International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barrington Research lifted their target price on CRA International from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

CRA International Price Performance

NASDAQ CRAI opened at $199.30 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $185.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.86. CRA International has a fifty-two week low of $92.07 and a fifty-two week high of $208.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

CRA International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This is a boost from CRA International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. CRA International’s payout ratio is currently 27.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRA International

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $1,436,625.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,060,433.60. The trade was a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRA International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of CRA International during the first quarter worth about $26,924,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRA International during the third quarter worth about $573,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRA International by 178.8% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 148,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,986,000 after purchasing an additional 95,050 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRA International by 34.9% during the second quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of CRA International by 21.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912 shares during the period. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About CRA International

CRA International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides economic, financial, and management consulting services worldwide. It advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings; and guides corporations through business strategy and performance-related issues.