Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Carpenter Technology Corporation (NYSE:CRS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $597.52 and last traded at $588.0680, with a volume of 1350966 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $586.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Carpenter Technology from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Carpenter Technology from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Carpenter Technology from $453.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Carpenter Technology from $465.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Eight 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $458.62.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $29.22 billion, a PE ratio of 61.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $466.78 and its 200-day moving average is $395.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 3.73 and a quick ratio of 2.08.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The basic materials company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $655.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $797.00 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 15.82% and a return on equity of 25.02%. Carpenter Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Carpenter Technology Corporation will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 28th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 28th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.42%.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In other Carpenter Technology news, Director Anastasios John Hart sold 750 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.86, for a total value of $317,895.00. Following the sale, the director owned 750 shares in the company, valued at $317,895. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Marshall D. Akins sold 11,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.36, for a total value of $5,214,668.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 18,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,096,307.84. This trade represents a 39.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate 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 CRS. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Carpenter Technology by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,190 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,622,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. PVG Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Carpenter Technology by 498.4% during the first quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp now owns 6,301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,484,000 after buying an additional 5,248 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new position in Carpenter Technology during the first quarter worth about $3,838,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 43.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 28.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.