Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Trading Down 6.9% – Should You Sell?

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS)’s stock price dropped 6.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $317.41 and last traded at $316.78. Approximately 453,692 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 785,627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $340.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $425.00 price target on Carpenter Technology and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Carpenter Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. KeyCorp raised 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 report on Thursday, November 13th. Jones Trading initiated coverage on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.14.

Carpenter Technology Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $321.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.93. The firm has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a PE ratio of 40.15, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 4.44.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The basic materials company reported $2.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $733.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $741.18 million. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 22.68% and a net margin of 14.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Carpenter Technology

In other Carpenter Technology news, COO Brian J. Malloy sold 43,688 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.45, for a total transaction of $13,300,811.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 78,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,013,493.75. This trade represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 3,900 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.25, for a total transaction of $1,252,875.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 9,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,082,072.50. This represents a 28.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 79,358 shares of company stock worth $24,254,008 in the last ninety days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carpenter Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRS. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 10.1% in 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 buying an additional 192,533 shares in the last quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $294,377,000 after acquiring an additional 272,896 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Carpenter Technology by 20.5% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 631,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $154,840,000 after purchasing an additional 107,552 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 111.6% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 617,948 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,731,000 after purchasing an additional 325,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 5.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 591,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $145,355,000 after purchasing an additional 32,645 shares during the period. 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.