Charles River Associates (CRAI) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI) is a global consulting firm specializing in economic, financial, and strategic advisory services. The company provides expert analysis in support of litigation, regulatory matters, and business strategy, drawing on advanced quantitative techniques and deep industry expertise. Its consulting teams include economists, financial analysts, management consultants, and data scientists who help clients address complex challenges related to antitrust, competition policy, securities exposure, and intellectual property disputes.

Founded in 1965 by a group of Harvard economists, Charles River Associates established itself as a pioneer in applying rigorous economic analysis to legal and business issues. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the firm has expanded its footprint through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Today, it operates from offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region, serving corporations, law firms, and government agencies worldwide.

Charles River Associates offers a wide range of services, including transaction advisory support for mergers and acquisitions, forensic accounting and investigative services, regulatory and competition economics, and strategic business consulting. The firm is known for its work in financial risk management, energy market analysis, healthcare and life sciences strategy, and technology sector consulting. By combining industry-specific knowledge with robust analytical frameworks, CRAI aims to deliver clear, actionable insights that inform critical business and legal decisions.

The firm’s leadership team, headed by President and CEO Daniel L. Figas, brings together expertise from academia, industry, and government. Under their guidance, Charles River Associates continues to innovate its service offerings and expand into new markets. The firm’s commitment to thought leadership is reflected in its frequent publications and contributions to public policy debates, reinforcing its reputation as a trusted advisor on economic and regulatory matters.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $177.77 to $183.37
• 50-Day Range: $179.85 to $202.84
• 52-Week Range: $133.54 to $214.01
• Volume: 92,704 shs
• Average Volume: 58,608 shs
• Market Capitalization: $1.22 billion
• P/E Ratio: 24.23
• Dividend Yield: 1.09%
• Price Target: $228.00
• Consensus Rating: Buy

Charles River Associates Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Charles River Associates scored higher than 82% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 61st out of 312 stocks in the business services sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Buy

Consensus Rating

Charles River Associates has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 3.00, and is based on 1 buy rating, no hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Charles River Associates has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 3.32%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Charles River Associates are expected to grow by 3.32% in the coming year, from $7.52 to $7.77 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Charles River Associates is 24.23, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 26.52.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Charles River Associates is 24.23, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Business Services sector average P/E ratio of about 28.33.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Charles River Associates has a PEG Ratio of 1.48. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Charles River Associates has a P/B Ratio of 5.74. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.87% of the float of Charles River Associates has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Charles River Associates has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Charles River Associates has recently increased by 21.11%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

Charles River Associates has a dividend yield of 0.97%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Charles River Associates has been increasing its dividend for 7 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Charles River Associates is 26.45%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Charles River Associates will have a dividend payout ratio of 25.23% next year. This indicates that Charles River Associates will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

2.87% of the float of Charles River Associates has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Charles River Associates has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.9, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Charles River Associates has recently increased by 21.11%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.4 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.33

News Sentiment

Charles River Associates has a news sentiment score of 0.33. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.89 average news sentiment score of Business Services companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 7 news articles for Charles River Associates this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

1 people have searched for CRAI on MarketBeat in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Charles River Associates insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $1,759,455.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 4.70% of the stock of Charles River Associates is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

84.13% of the stock of Charles River Associates is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

CRAI Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have CRAI shares performed this year?

Charles River Associates' stock was trading at $187.20 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, CRAI shares have decreased by 4.1% and is now trading at $179.51.

How were Charles River Associates' earnings last quarter?

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May, 1st. The business services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.29. The business services provider earned $181.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $176.63 million. Charles River Associates had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 7.31%.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Charles River Associates' major shareholders?

Top institutional investors of Charles River Associates include Farther Finance Advisors LLC (0.04%). Insiders that own company stock include Paul A Maleh, Chad M Holmes, Jonathan D Yellin, Thomas Aiken Avery and Daniel K Mahoney.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Charles River Associates?

Shares of CRAI stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Charles River Associates own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Charles River Associates investors own include Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR), American Water Works (AWK), Waste Connections (WCN), The RMR Group (RMR), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), AU Optronics (AUOTY) and iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 5/01/2025
• Record date for 6/13 Dividend: 5/27/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/13 Dividend: 5/27/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/13/2025
• Today: 7/17/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 7/30/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Business Services
• Industry: Consulting
• Sub-Industry: Research & Consulting Services
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:CRAI
• CIK: 1053706
• Web: www.crai.com
• Phone: (617) 425-3000
• Fax: 617-425-3132
• Employees: 940
• Year Founded: 1965

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Charles River Associates: $228.00
• High Price Target: $228.00
• Low Price Target: $228.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +26.8%
• Consensus Rating: Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 3.00
• Research Coverage: 1 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $7.41
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 24.27
• Forward P/E Ratio: 23.91
• P/E Growth: 1.48
• Net Income: $46.65 million
• Net Margins: 7.31%
• Pretax Margin: 10.31%
• Return on Equity: 25.88%
• Return on Assets: 9.44%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: N/A
• Current Ratio: 1.03
• Quick Ratio: 1.03

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $697.48 million
• Price / Sales: 1.76
• Cash Flow: $11.13 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 16.16
• Book Value: $31.28 per share
• Price / Book: 5.75

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 6,809,000
• Free Float: 6,489,000
• Market Cap: $1.22 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.91