Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Shares Climb 7.7% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) rose 7.7% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $298.72 and last traded at $301.6670. 174,583 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 794,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $280.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CRS. KeyCorp lowered Carpenter Technology from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $650.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $540.00 to $430.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Carpenter Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $476.43.

Carpenter Technology Trading Down 5.1%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $400.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $442.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 3.94. The stock has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.29.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.04 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $634.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.85 million. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 27.50% and a net margin of 17.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 13.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.05%.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In related news, Director Steven Karol sold 3,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.08, for a total value of $1,552,612.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 177,000 shares in the company, valued at $83,912,160. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ramin Younessi sold 438 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $493.15, for a total value of $215,999.70. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,121.95. This represents a 18.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 112,996 shares of company stock valued at $54,644,436 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,834,623,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the first quarter valued at approximately $317,411,000. SurgoCap Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the second quarter valued at approximately $423,444,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the second quarter valued at approximately $231,252,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the second quarter valued at approximately $205,165,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

About Carpenter Technology

Carpenter Technology Corporation is a manufacturer of premium specialty metals and engineered materials for demanding applications. The company produces stainless steels, nickel- and cobalt-based alloys, titanium, powder metals, and other high-performance materials designed to withstand extreme temperatures, corrosion, stress, and wear.

Its products are used in aerospace and defense, medical devices, energy, transportation, industrial equipment, and other specialized markets. Carpenter Technology supplies materials in forms such as bar, wire, strip, sheet, and powder, and also provides processing and engineered component solutions through its performance-engineered products operations.

Founded in 1889 as Carpenter Steel Company, the company has developed a global customer base supported by manufacturing, research, and service operations in the United States and international markets.