CTS (NYSE:CTS) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $42.48 and last traded at $42.68, with a volume of 84996 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of CTS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 9th.

CTS Stock Down 4.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

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

CTS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. CTS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.42%.

Insider Activity at CTS

In other CTS news, CEO Kieran M. O’sullivan sold 8,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $462,923.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,333 shares in the company, valued at $20,837,148.50. This trade represents a 2.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,978 shares of company stock worth $1,546,493. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CTS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of CTS by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,993,863 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $96,463,000 after purchasing an additional 374,104 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in CTS during the 4th quarter valued at $15,852,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of CTS in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,960,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CTS in the 4th quarter worth $4,439,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CTS by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,218,002 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $116,956,000 after purchasing an additional 73,435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.87% of the company’s stock.

About CTS

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.