Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $476.43.

CRS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research lowered Carpenter Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Carpenter Technology from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $620.00 to $470.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $540.00 to $430.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Carpenter Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 owned 1,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $963,121.95. The trade was a 18.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 177,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,912,160. This represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,996 shares of company stock valued at $54,644,436. Company insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRS. Aberdeen Group plc bought a new position in Carpenter Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,235,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 5.8% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,556,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Carpenter Technology by 3.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 244,533 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,080,000 after buying an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 72,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. grew its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 85.9% in the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 2,327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Carpenter Technology Stock Performance

CRS stock opened at $278.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $381.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $441.36. The firm has a market cap of $13.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.43. Carpenter Technology has a 1-year low of $270.49 and a 1-year high of $625.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.04 by $0.21. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 27.50% and a net margin of 17.87%. The business had revenue of $634.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $830.85 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.43 EPS. Carpenter Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Carpenter Technology will post 13.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 20th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.05%.

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.