Hodges Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) by 32.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 103,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 50,358 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Carpenter Technology were worth $7,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Carpenter Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 322.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,162 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 4th quarter valued at $100,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Carpenter Technology from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Carpenter Technology in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $123.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carpenter Technology

In related news, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 802 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.11, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP James D. Dee sold 23,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.26, for a total transaction of $2,616,612.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 84,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,434,625.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 59,678 shares of company stock valued at $6,261,693 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

Carpenter Technology stock traded up $2.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $109.58. The company had a trading volume of 3,299,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 644,542. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.89. Carpenter Technology Co. 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. The company has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.61 and a beta of 1.47.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Carpenter Technology’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Carpenter Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is presently 30.42%.

Carpenter Technology Profile

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.