Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $410.28 and last traded at $405.40, with a volume of 227402 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $401.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Carpenter Technology from $388.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Carpenter Technology from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Carpenter Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.50.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $20.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.48, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 4.25, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $349.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.88.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The business had revenue of $728.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is currently 9.29%.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In related news, Director Steven E. Karol sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.12, for a total transaction of $1,333,920.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 225,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,897,206.72. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian J. Malloy sold 43,688 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.45, for a total value of $13,300,811.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 78,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,013,493.75. The trade was a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 97,758 shares of company stock worth $31,665,177. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Carpenter Technology by 10.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,096,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $514,687,000 after acquiring an additional 192,533 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,071,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,241,000 after purchasing an additional 327,302 shares during the period. Egerton Capital UK LLP lifted its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP now owns 1,553,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $488,950,000 after purchasing an additional 178,679 shares in the last quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP now owns 1,198,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $294,377,000 after purchasing an additional 272,896 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Carpenter Technology by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 975,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $307,333,000 after purchasing an additional 78,588 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

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