AGP Franklin LLC Cuts Stock Position in Carpenter Technology Corporation $CRS

Key Points

• AGP Franklin LLC cut its stake in Carpenter Technology by 59.8% in the first quarter, selling 7,611 shares and leaving it with 5,114 shares valued at about $2.0 million.
• Carpenter Technology reported Q4 earnings of $2.77 per share, topping estimates, though revenue of $655.6 million came in below expectations. Analysts still see strong full-year earnings of about 10.56 EPS.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on the stock, with eight Buy ratings and two Hold ratings and a consensus price target of $458.62; however, recent insider sales included a vice president and a director reducing their holdings.

AGP Franklin LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 59.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,114 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,611 shares during the quarter. AGP Franklin LLC's holdings in Carpenter Technology were worth $2,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sands Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Carpenter Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $195,731,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $195,254,000. Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology during the third quarter worth approximately $136,215,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology during the second quarter worth approximately $106,683,000. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 171.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 606,501 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $190,951,000 after acquiring an additional 382,865 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

CRS stock opened at $588.07 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.73, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $29.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.90, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $466.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $395.38. Carpenter Technology Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.00 and a twelve month high of $597.52.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $655.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $797.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 28th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 28th. Carpenter Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRS. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Carpenter Technology from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BTIG Research increased their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $465.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $458.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carpenter Technology news, VP Marshall D. Akins sold 11,815 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.36, for a total transaction of $5,214,668.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 18,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,096,307.84. This represents a 39.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $423.86, for a total value of $317,895.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $317,895. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

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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