Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Stock Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $160.02 and traded as high as $179.99. Charles River Associates shares last traded at $178.29, with a volume of 98,174 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Charles River Associates Stock Down 1.9%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.70.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.01. Charles River Associates had a net margin of 6.20% and a return on equity of 27.31%. The company had revenue of $210.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $198.91 million. Equities research analysts expect that Charles River Associates will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles River Associates Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Charles River Associates’s payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Charles River Associates

In other Charles River Associates news, EVP Jonathan Yellin sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.25, for a total value of $389,812.50. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Associates

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Charles River Associates during the second quarter worth $35,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 2nd quarter worth about $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

About Charles River Associates

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI), operating under the name CRA, is a global consulting firm that provides economic, financial, and strategic analysis to corporations, law firms, government agencies, and other organizations. The company supports clients involved in complex business decisions, litigation, regulatory matters, and corporate transactions.

CRA’s services include antitrust and competition economics, intellectual property and commercial disputes, financial and securities analysis, forensic accounting, investigations, corporate strategy, and regulatory consulting.