Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• CRD.B shares gapped higher, opening at $12.98 versus a prior close of $12.66, though they later traded at $12.507 on light volume.
• Zacks Research upgraded Crawford & Company from “hold” to “strong buy”; the stock’s sole tracked analyst rating is also Strong Buy.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.38 versus $0.27) but missed revenue expectations, while insiders sold about 1.024 million shares worth $13.1 million over the past 90 days.

Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.66, but opened at $12.98. Crawford & Company shares last traded at $12.5070, with a volume of 3,332 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded Crawford & Company from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Strong Buy".

Crawford & Company Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $599.17 million, a PE ratio of 25.89 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $10.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.32.

Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.B - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.11. Crawford & Company had a return on equity of 28.15% and a net margin of 1.81%.The firm had revenue of $321.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $336.09 million. Research analysts expect that Crawford & Company will post 1.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Crawford & Company

In other news, EVP Andrew John Bart sold 14,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.32, for a total value of $144,531.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 113,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,170,184.80. This represents a 10.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Jesse C. Crawford sold 1,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total transaction of $12,810,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,447,188 shares in the company, valued at $56,968,478.28. This trade represents a 18.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,024,000 shares of company stock valued at $13,056,260. Company insiders own 51.04% of the company's stock.

About Crawford & Company

Crawford & Company NYSE: CRD.B is an independent provider of claims management and risk solutions to insurance carriers and self-insured entities worldwide. The company's services span property and casualty claims adjusting, third-party administration, managed repair, catastrophe response, and risk consulting. Through its network of professionals, Crawford & Company assists clients in streamlining claims processes, controlling costs, and improving customer satisfaction across diverse lines of business.

Founded in 1941 by James O.

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