Lisanti Capital Growth LLC Lowers Position in Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS)

Lisanti Capital Growth LLC lowered its holdings in Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,095 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,515 shares during the quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC's holdings in Carpenter Technology were worth $3,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC raised its position in Carpenter Technology by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,444,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $754,295,000 after purchasing an additional 979,313 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,537,235 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $260,884,000 after acquiring an additional 357,417 shares during the last quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 117.6% in the 4th quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP now owns 1,442,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $244,734,000 after acquiring an additional 779,357 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,138,615 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $193,279,000 after purchasing an additional 38,411 shares during the period. Finally, Third Point LLC increased its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 870,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $147,648,000 after buying an additional 210,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research raised Carpenter Technology from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Carpenter Technology from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $278.33.

Insider Activity

In other Carpenter Technology news, Director Anastasios John Hart sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.72, for a total transaction of $243,720.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total transaction of $678,566.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,330,647.12. This represents a 33.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Carpenter Technology Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of CRS traded up $2.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $274.70. 795,684 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 802,840. Carpenter Technology Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $103.37 and a fifty-two week high of $279.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 1.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $234.51 and a 200-day moving average of $202.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.39.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.14. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $727.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Carpenter Technology's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Carpenter Technology's payout ratio is 11.33%.

Carpenter Technology announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.