CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) saw a large decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 352,400 shares, a decline of 8.4% from the January 15th total of 384,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 152,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CTS news, CEO Kieran M. O’sullivan sold 6,690 shares of CTS stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.83, for a total transaction of $373,502.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 375,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,972,148.69. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 59,956 shares of company stock worth $3,331,185 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CTS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of CTS in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,890,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in CTS by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 806,180 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $39,010,000 after buying an additional 33,449 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in CTS by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 294,513 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $14,249,000 after buying an additional 15,062 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in CTS during the 3rd quarter worth $1,719,000. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of CTS in the 3rd quarter worth $518,000. 96.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CTS Stock Performance

CTS traded up $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $46.72. 117,036 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 142,321. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59 and a beta of 0.59. CTS has a 1-year low of $42.63 and a 1-year high of $59.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The electronics maker reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.06). CTS had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 12.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CTS will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current year.

CTS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. CTS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CTS shares. Scotiabank cut shares of CTS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of CTS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 9th.

CTS Company Profile

CTS Corporation manufactures and sells sensors, actuators, and connectivity components in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides encoders, rotary position sensors, slide potentiometers, industrial and commercial rotary potentiometers. It also provides non-contacting, and contacting pedals; and eBrake pedals.