William Blair Has Strong Forecast for CRAI FY2025 Earnings

Key Points

• William Blair analysts raised their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimate for Charles River Associates to $7.98, up from the previous estimate of $7.80, indicating a positive outlook for the firm.
• Wall Street Zen downgraded Charles River Associates from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, while Barrington Research increased their target price from $224.00 to $228.00 and maintained an "outperform" rating.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.49 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.96 and a dividend yield of 1.2%.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI - Free Report) - William Blair increased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Charles River Associates in a research report issued on Thursday, July 31st. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now expects that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $7.98 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $7.80. The consensus estimate for Charles River Associates' current full-year earnings is $7.52 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Charles River Associates' Q2 2026 earnings at $2.10 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.97 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.70 EPS.

CRAI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of Charles River Associates from $224.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Charles River Associates from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Charles River Associates Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CRAI traded up $3.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $188.87. 105,361 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 74,601. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $185.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.13. Charles River Associates has a 52 week low of $152.57 and a 52 week high of $214.01.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.05. Charles River Associates had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $186.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.34 million.

Charles River Associates Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. Charles River Associates's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.62, for a total transaction of $1,429,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 141,545 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,981,307.90. This trade represents a 5.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.46, for a total value of $329,805.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,594,497.58. This represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Associates

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 4th quarter valued at $281,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Associates during the fourth quarter valued at $9,389,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Charles River Associates by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 4th quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Charles River Associates by 28,517.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,582 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 6,559 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.13% of the company's stock.

About Charles River Associates

CRA International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides economic, financial, and management consulting services worldwide. It advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings; and guides corporations through business strategy and performance-related issues.