Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Carpenter Technology Corporation $CRS

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 1,390.6% in Q3 to 12,953 shares worth $3.18M, and institutional investors now own 92.03% of the stock.
• Analysts largely bullish: nine Buy and two Hold ratings with an average price target of $385.50, plus recent target increases including JPMorgan to $394 and Susquehanna initiating coverage at $470.
• Mixed signals from results and insiders: Carpenter beat EPS estimates ($2.33 vs. $2.20) with revenue up 7.5% YoY, while insiders sold 97,758 shares (about $31.7M) in the last quarter.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 1,390.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,953 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 12,084 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Carpenter Technology were worth $3,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRS. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Carpenter Technology in the 1st quarter worth about $4,050,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Carpenter Technology by 1.7% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 104,785 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $18,985,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,615 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $836,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Carpenter Technology by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,133 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 1,657.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 334 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRS. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Carpenter Technology from $388.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday. They set a "positive" rating and a $470.00 price objective on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $385.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Brian J. Malloy sold 4,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.52, for a total transaction of $1,253,537.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 78,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,940,140. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James D. Dee sold 15,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.78, for a total transaction of $6,190,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 73,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,889,465.42. The trade was a 17.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 97,758 shares of company stock worth $31,665,177. Insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

Carpenter Technology Stock Performance

CRS stock opened at $411.90 on Thursday. Carpenter Technology Corporation has a one year low of $138.61 and a one year high of $412.31. The firm has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.84, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 4.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $351.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.64.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The firm had revenue of $728.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $733.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Carpenter Technology's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.29%.

Carpenter Technology Company Profile

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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