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

Key Points

• Carpenter Technology has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 8 buy ratings and 2 holds. The average 12-month target price from covering analysts is about $458.63.
• The stock recently traded near its 52-week high, opening at $523.45 versus a 1-year range of $228.00 to $525.00. The company also reported strong quarterly earnings of $2.77 per share, beating estimates, though revenue came in below expectations.
• Carpenter Technology paid a quarterly dividend of $0.20, or $0.80 annualized, for a very low yield of about 0.2%. Recent insider sales by executives and directors were also disclosed.

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $458.6250.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CRS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Carpenter Technology from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Carpenter Technology from $465.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Carpenter Technology from $453.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Carpenter Technology from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

Shares of CRS stock opened at $523.45 on Wednesday. Carpenter Technology has a 1 year low of $228.00 and a 1 year high of $525.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $436.67 and its 200-day moving average is $379.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.10, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.73, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 15.82% and a return on equity of 25.02%. The company had revenue of $655.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. Carpenter Technology's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology will post 10.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. Carpenter Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.42%.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In related news, VP Marshall D. Akins sold 11,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.36, for a total value of $5,214,668.40. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 18,344 shares in the company, valued at $8,096,307.84. This represents a 39.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Anastasios John Hart sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.86, for a total transaction of $317,895.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 750 shares in the company, valued at $317,895. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 889 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 0.3% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Essential Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 9.9% in the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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