Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS) reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $395.83 and last traded at $395.6870, with a volume of 272673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $383.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $425.00 price objective on Carpenter Technology and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Carpenter Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Carpenter Technology from $388.00 to $394.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.43.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $337.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $295.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 4.25. The company has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $728.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.76 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio is 9.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 3,900 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 28.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Brian J. Malloy sold 4,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.52, for a total transaction of $1,253,537.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 78,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,940,140. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 79,358 shares of company stock valued at $24,254,008 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Carpenter Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sands Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $195,731,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $195,254,000. Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at about $136,215,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Carpenter Technology in the 2nd quarter valued at about $106,683,000. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 171.2% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

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.