Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Takes Position in CSW Industrials, Inc. $CSW

Key Points

• Conestoga Capital Advisors bought a new stake of 633,255 shares (~$185.9M), making CSW its 5th-largest holding, and other institutions including Vanguard also initiated large positions, leaving institutional ownership around 82.8%.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average target of $328.43, while individual views range from Robert W. Baird's "Outperform" ($378) to Zacks' "Strong Sell".
• CSW missed the latest quarter (EPS $1.42 vs. $1.93 expected) but raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 (annualized $1.20, ~0.4% yield).

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CSW Industrials, Inc. (NYSE:CSW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 633,255 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $185,879,000. CSW Industrials accounts for about 3.1% of Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 3.79% of CSW Industrials at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CSW Industrials in the 4th quarter valued at $515,553,000. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of CSW Industrials in the 4th quarter valued at $65,002,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of CSW Industrials in the 4th quarter valued at $53,434,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSW Industrials in the 4th quarter valued at $41,461,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CSW Industrials in the 4th quarter valued at $39,915,000. 82.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on CSW Industrials from $302.00 to $333.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on CSW Industrials in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $378.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research cut CSW Industrials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on CSW Industrials from $292.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on CSW Industrials from $333.00 to $307.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $328.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CSW Industrials news, EVP Don Sullivan sold 166 shares of CSW Industrials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.26, for a total transaction of $49,843.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,475,707.42. The trade was a 0.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Darron K. Ash bought 300 shares of CSW Industrials stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $256.62 per share, for a total transaction of $76,986.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $296,396.10. This represents a 35.09% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,173 shares of company stock valued at $905,981. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

CSW Industrials Stock Performance

CSW stock opened at $291.52 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $278.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66 and a beta of 0.84. CSW Industrials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $230.45 and a 1-year high of $338.90.

CSW Industrials (NYSE:CSW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.93 by ($0.51). The business had revenue of $232.99 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $249.36 million. CSW Industrials had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 12.64%. As a group, research analysts forecast that CSW Industrials, Inc. will post 9.9 earnings per share for the current year.

CSW Industrials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from CSW Industrials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th. CSW Industrials's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.92%.

CSW Industrials Profile

CSW Industrials, Inc is a diversified industrial manufacturer that develops and supplies specialty chemical products, performance materials and precision surface solutions. The company's offerings span a range of end markets including energy, industrial processing, converting and automotive, where its products serve critical functions in production efficiency, equipment maintenance and process enhancement.

In its chemical business, CSW Industrials produces solvent- and water-based formulations such as surfactants, corrosion inhibitors and custom blends used in oilfield exploration and production, metalworking, water treatment and other industrial applications.

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