Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Shares Climb 5.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) shot up 5.2% on Thursday. The company traded as high as $172.35 and last traded at $172.6390. 96,118 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 157,947 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Charles River Associates from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles River Associates presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.00.

Charles River Associates Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $170.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.65.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $210.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $198.91 million. Charles River Associates had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 6.20%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Charles River Associates will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Associates Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. Charles River Associates’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles River Associates news, EVP Jonathan Yellin sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.25, for a total value of $389,812.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,932,257.25. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 4.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Associates

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,660,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,959,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the second quarter valued at about $1,099,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 2nd quarter valued at $890,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates during the second quarter valued at $961,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

About Charles River Associates

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI) is a global consulting firm that provides economic, financial, and management consulting services to corporations, law firms, government agencies, and other organizations. The company supports clients on complex business, regulatory, legal, and strategic matters.

Its services include economic and competition analysis, antitrust and merger-related consulting, litigation support, regulatory and public policy advice, financial and valuation analysis, and business strategy.