Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a decrease of 10.5% from the August 15th total of 1,620,000 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 691,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $116.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Northcoast Research reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Carpenter Technology in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $139.60.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

CRS stock opened at $146.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 1.84. Carpenter Technology has a 1 year low of $58.87 and a 1 year high of $151.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $136.01 and a 200 day moving average of $106.74. The company has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.89, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.45.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $798.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $763.76 million. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 15.81% and a net margin of 6.76%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 91.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,799,000 after purchasing an additional 12,129 shares during the period. Harvest Investment Services LLC bought a new position in Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $826,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 13.2% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 149,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,667,000 after buying an additional 17,400 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Carpenter Technology in the first quarter worth $4,199,000. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology by 170.3% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 67,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,812,000 after acquiring an additional 42,449 shares during the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.