Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Shares carry a consensus “Moderate Buy” from 11 analysts (nine buys, two holds) with an average 12‑month target of $385.50, and several brokers have recently raised price targets (e.g., JPMorgan to $394, Susquehanna to $470).
• Insiders sold 22,300 shares in the past three months (≈$8.66M)—including the SVP selling 15,800 shares—while institutional ownership is very high at about 92.03% and insiders hold 2.9%.
• Carpenter beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.33 vs. $2.20) with revenue of $728M slightly under estimates; the stock trades at a P/E of 45.33, market cap ~$19.44B, and pays a modest annual dividend yield of 0.2%.

Shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $385.50.

Several brokerages recently commented on CRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $388.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Susquehanna started coverage on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They set a "positive" rating and a $470.00 price target for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James D. Dee sold 15,800 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.78, for a total value of $6,190,124.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 73,739 shares in the company, valued at $28,889,465.42. The trade was a 17.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven E. Karol sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 225,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,897,206.72. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,664,044. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Carpenter Technology by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC boosted its position in Carpenter Technology by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Carpenter Technology by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,411 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 11,146 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,509,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carpenter Technology Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:CRS opened at $390.30 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $369.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $320.26. Carpenter Technology has a 12-month low of $138.61 and a 12-month high of $412.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.33, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Carpenter Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.29%.

Carpenter Technology Company Profile

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.

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