Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CRS. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Carpenter Technology in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Carpenter Technology from $388.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, KeyCorp assumed coverage on Carpenter Technology in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carpenter Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $387.11.

Insider Transactions at Carpenter Technology

In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,897,206.72. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP James D. Dee sold 15,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 73,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,889,465.42. This represents a 17.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 22,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,664,044 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Carpenter Technology during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the third quarter worth about $41,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 54.1% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Carpenter Technology by 164.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Carpenter Technology Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE:CRS traded up $14.36 on Wednesday, reaching $408.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 118,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,591. Carpenter Technology has a 1-year low of $138.61 and a 1-year high of $421.12. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $372.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $324.17. The firm has a market cap of $20.35 billion, a PE ratio of 47.44, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. 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 (NYSE:CRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.13. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 14.77%.The business had revenue of $728.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $733.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Carpenter Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Carpenter Technology will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

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.