Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Shares of Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $374.00 and last traded at $386.09, with a volume of 473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $369.70.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CRS. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Carpenter Technology from $365.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $425.00 target price on shares of Carpenter Technology and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. KeyCorp raised shares of Carpenter Technology from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carpenter Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.43.

Carpenter Technology Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $329.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.76. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 4.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $18.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.30.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $728.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $733.76 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 3,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.25, for a total value of $1,252,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,082,072.50. This trade represents a 28.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Brian J. Malloy sold 43,688 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.45, for a total transaction of $13,300,811.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 78,875 shares in the company, valued at $24,013,493.75. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 79,358 shares of company stock worth $24,254,008. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Carpenter Technology

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $195,254,000. Aspex Management HK Ltd bought a new stake in Carpenter Technology in the third quarter valued at $136,215,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Carpenter Technology during the second quarter worth $134,790,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the second quarter valued at $106,683,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 171.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 606,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $190,951,000 after purchasing an additional 382,865 shares in the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.