CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 46,800 shares, a drop of 16.7% from the August 15th total of 56,200 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 44,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.33, for a total transaction of $1,187,475.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,212 shares in the company, valued at $25,208,035.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Daniel K. Mahoney sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.21, for a total value of $155,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,804,161.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of CRA International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.33, for a total transaction of $1,187,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,208,035.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,750 shares of company stock worth $1,695,720. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRA International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of CRA International during the first quarter worth about $115,000. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in CRA International during the second quarter worth approximately $221,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in CRA International by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in CRA International by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CRA International by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the period. 84.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $186.00 price objective on shares of CRA International in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th.

CRA International Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of CRAI traded up $3.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $169.85. The company had a trading volume of 9,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,185. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.15. CRA International has a 12-month low of $81.29 and a 12-month high of $187.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.94.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.34. CRA International had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 22.37%. The company had revenue of $171.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.87 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that CRA International will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

CRA International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. CRA International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.45%.

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.