Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Benchmark raised their price target on the stock from $250.00 to $300.00. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the stock. Carpenter Technology traded as high as $255.26 and last traded at $253.91, with a volume of 233599 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $248.74.

Several other research firms have also commented on CRS. Northcoast Research raised Carpenter Technology from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Carpenter Technology from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Carpenter Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.60.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In other news, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total value of $678,566.78. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,330,647.12. This represents a 33.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 3.9% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,541 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 2,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 27.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 359 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 50.3% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Carpenter Technology Stock Down 3.0%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.07. The firm has a market cap of $12.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.32, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.80 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.14. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 9.34%. The business had revenue of $727.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $729.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.33%. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.33%.

Carpenter Technology announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Carpenter Technology Company 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.