Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Shares Up 7.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) were up 7.7% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $196.80 and last traded at $197.4750. Approximately 68,702 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 154,733 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Charles River Associates from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.00.

Charles River Associates Trading Up 9.6%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $170.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.70.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $210.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.91 million. Charles River Associates had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 27.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Charles River Associates will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Associates Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Charles River Associates’s payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles River Associates news, EVP Jonathan Yellin sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.25, for a total value of $389,812.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,932,257.25. This represents a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Associates

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRAI. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Associates during the second quarter valued at approximately $91,500,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,965,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles River Associates by 86.6% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 105,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $17,052,000 after purchasing an additional 48,892 shares in the last quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,066,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,959,000. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Charles River Associates

Charles River Associates, operating as CRA International, Inc, is a global consulting firm that provides economic, financial, and management consulting services. The company advises corporations, law firms, government agencies, and other organizations on complex business, legal, regulatory, and strategic matters.

CRA’s services include economic and financial analysis for litigation and regulatory proceedings, antitrust and competition consulting, corporate strategy, business performance improvement, and investigations.