Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $399.20 and last traded at $395.8630, with a volume of 489225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $392.47.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $388.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Friday, November 14th. KeyCorp upgraded Carpenter Technology from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $380.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.43.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 4.25 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.72 billion, a PE ratio of 45.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $343.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.23.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $728.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $733.76 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carpenter Technology news, Director Steven E. Karol sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 225,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,897,206.72. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Brian J. Malloy sold 43,688 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.45, for a total transaction of $13,300,811.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 78,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,013,493.75. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 81,958 shares of company stock valued at $25,475,053 in the last quarter. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carpenter Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $2,780,000. Vinland Capital Management Gestora de Recursos LTDA. purchased a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $152,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates boosted its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates now owns 39,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,283,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,071,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $652,241,000 after buying an additional 327,302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

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.