Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) Short Interest Update

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) saw a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,679,140 shares, a drop of 13.9% from the February 26th total of 3,112,447 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 706,570 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently, 5.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

CRS stock opened at $404.16 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.94, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $373.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $324.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 4.25. Carpenter Technology has a 52-week low of $138.61 and a 52-week high of $421.12.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $728.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $733.76 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 23.63%. Carpenter Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Carpenter Technology will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 27th. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is 9.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CRS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $388.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Susquehanna started coverage on Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued a “positive” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Carpenter Technology in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Carpenter Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $387.11.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In related news, SVP James D. Dee sold 15,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.78, for a total value of $6,190,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 73,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,889,465.42. This represents a 17.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven E. Karol sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.12, for a total transaction of $1,333,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 225,381 shares in the company, valued at $85,897,206.72. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 22,300 shares of company stock worth $8,664,044 over the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ion Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology during the third quarter worth $4,027,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 4.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 467,702 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,841,000 after buying an additional 18,201 shares during the period. Kinetic Partners Management LP lifted its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 15.5% in the third quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP now owns 386,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $94,901,000 after buying an additional 51,800 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Carpenter Technology by 77.9% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 357,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,261,000 after acquiring an additional 156,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bright Futures Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in Carpenter Technology during the third quarter valued at $674,000. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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. It serves to aerospace, defense, medical, transportation, energy, industrial, and consumer markets.