Aristeia Capital L.L.C. Purchases Shares of 3,547 Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,547 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $602,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 109.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 243 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 169.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 304 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the third quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 573 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Carpenter Technology from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Carpenter Technology from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $230.00 price target on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Carpenter Technology presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.00.

Carpenter Technology Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE CRS traded down $1.40 during trading on Monday, reaching $211.61. 627,253 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 747,273. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $183.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.76. Carpenter Technology Co. has a 12-month low of $95.17 and a 12-month high of $216.00. The firm has a market cap of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.80 and a quick ratio of 1.92.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $727.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.67 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 19.88%. Carpenter Technology's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. Carpenter Technology's payout ratio is currently 11.33%.

Carpenter Technology declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In other news, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total value of $678,566.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,647.12. This trade represents a 33.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.