Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $220.65 and last traded at $221.06, with a volume of 39745 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $216.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CRAI shares. Barrington Research boosted their price objective on shares of Charles River Associates from $239.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Charles River Associates from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Charles River Associates in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.00.

Charles River Associates Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.28.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.26. Charles River Associates had a return on equity of 26.33% and a net margin of 7.74%.The firm had revenue of $185.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.42 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Charles River Associates will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Associates Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. This is a positive change from Charles River Associates’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Charles River Associates’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles River Associates

In other Charles River Associates news, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 1,750 shares of Charles River Associates stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.38, for a total transaction of $305,165.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,573 shares in the company, valued at $2,715,619.74. This trade represents a 10.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Associates in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Associates by 3.3% during the second quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 5,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Charles River Associates by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,253 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Charles River Associates by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Charles River Associates by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,201,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Associates Company Profile

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI) is a global consulting firm specializing in economic, financial and management advisory services. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company provides expert analysis to support litigation, regulatory proceedings, and strategic decision-making. Its multidisciplinary teams draw on academic rigor and industry experience to deliver quantitative and qualitative insights tailored to clients’ needs.

The firm’s service offerings include competition economics, antitrust and merger analysis, intellectual property valuation and damages assessment, and risk management.