Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $385.50.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Carpenter Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. KeyCorp began coverage on Carpenter Technology in a report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $388.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Susquehanna started coverage on Carpenter Technology in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set a “positive” rating and a $470.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven E. Karol sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 225,381 shares in the company, valued at $85,897,206.72. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP James D. Dee sold 15,800 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.78, for a total transaction of $6,190,124.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 73,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,889,465.42. This trade represents a 17.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,664,044. 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 bought and sold shares of CRS. Sands Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $195,731,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $195,254,000. Aspex Management HK Ltd bought a new stake in Carpenter Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $136,215,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Carpenter Technology in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $106,683,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 171.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 606,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $190,951,000 after purchasing an additional 382,865 shares in the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Carpenter Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRS opened at $390.30 on Friday. Carpenter Technology has a 12-month low of $138.61 and a 12-month high of $412.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 4.25, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $369.47 and a 200 day moving average of $320.26.

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

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is currently 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.