Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) Short Interest Up 5.6% in October

Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) saw a significant growth in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,700,000 shares, a growth of 5.6% from the September 30th total of 1,610,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 569,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Carpenter Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRS. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 1.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,557 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 40.8% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 10,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 3,113 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Carpenter Technology by 68.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 25,730 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 10,477 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 25,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,835,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new stake in Carpenter Technology in the first quarter valued at $1,016,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

CRS opened at $155.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50-day moving average is $151.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.99. Carpenter Technology has a 1 year low of $58.87 and a 1 year high of $166.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.84 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $717.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $742.96 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 18.01%. Carpenter Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Carpenter Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is 17.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRS has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BTIG Research lifted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.60.

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.