Royce & Associates LP Sells 31,361 Shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Carpenter Technology Corporation by 39.3%, selling 31,361 shares and holding a total of 48,459 shares worth approximately $8.78 million as of the most recent reporting period.
• Carpenter Technology's board has authorized a $400 million stock repurchase program, allowing the company to buy back up to 4% of its outstanding shares, indicating a belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported earnings of $1.88 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $727 million, while forecasting an earnings per share (EPS) of 6.83 for the current fiscal year.

Royce & Associates LP lowered its position in shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) by 39.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,459 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 31,361 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.10% of Carpenter Technology worth $8,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 28.3% during the fourth 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 period. Egerton Capital UK LLP acquired a new stake in Carpenter Technology during the first quarter worth approximately $329,727,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Carpenter Technology by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,537,235 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $260,884,000 after buying an additional 357,417 shares in the last quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP grew its position in Carpenter Technology by 117.6% during the fourth quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP now owns 1,442,069 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $244,734,000 after buying an additional 779,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Carpenter Technology by 3.5% during 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 buying an additional 38,411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

Shares of CRS stock traded up $3.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $276.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 581,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,179,522. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $259.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.16. The company has a market capitalization of $13.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.17, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.39. Carpenter Technology Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $119.69 and a fifty-two week high of $290.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 3.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $729.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Carpenter Technology's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Carpenter Technology declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, April 24th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total value of $678,566.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,330,647.12. This represents a 33.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anastasios John Hart sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.72, for a total value of $243,720.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.