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

Key Points

• Eleven brokerages give Carpenter Technology a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy (nine Buy, two Hold) with an average one‑year price target of $403 and several firms (Susquehanna, JPMorgan) raising targets as high as $470 and $465.
• CRS recently traded near its 52‑week high (~$452) with a $22.49B market cap and a high valuation (P/E 52.45); the company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($2.33 vs. $2.20), posted revenue up 7.5% year‑over‑year, and analysts forecast ~10.3 EPS for the fiscal year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 (annualized $0.80, yield 0.2%, ex‑dividend April 28), while insiders sold about 22,300 shares (~$8.66M) over the last three months and institutional investors own roughly 92% of the stock.

Shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment 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 $403.1111.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BTIG Research upped their target price on Carpenter Technology from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Carpenter Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Susquehanna assumed coverage on Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued a "positive" rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Carpenter Technology from $394.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

Shares of CRS stock opened at $451.60 on Tuesday. Carpenter Technology has a twelve month low of $165.00 and a twelve month high of $452.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $395.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $341.86. The company has a current ratio of 4.25, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 14.77%.The business had revenue of $728.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $733.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Carpenter Technology will post 10.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 28th. Carpenter Technology's payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carpenter Technology

In other news, SVP James D. Dee sold 15,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.78, for a total value of $6,190,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 73,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,889,465.42. The trade was a 17.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven E. Karol sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.12, for a total value of $1,333,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 225,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $85,897,206.72. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 1st quarter worth $5,676,000. Fairvoy Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 1st quarter worth $998,000. Longview Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 1st quarter worth $55,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,062 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.