Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,290,000 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the October 31st total of 2,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 580,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.00.

Carpenter Technology Price Performance

Shares of Carpenter Technology stock traded down $2.82 on Tuesday, hitting $191.95. The company had a trading volume of 162,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 590,620. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 3.84 and a quick ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.52. Carpenter Technology has a 52 week low of $58.87 and a 52 week high of $198.24.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $717.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $742.96 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 18.01%. The business’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Carpenter Technology will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 22nd. Carpenter Technology’s payout ratio is 17.82%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,465,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $552,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108,963 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Carpenter Technology by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,100,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $175,607,000 after buying an additional 17,497 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Carpenter Technology by 129.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 849,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $93,044,000 after buying an additional 479,047 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Carpenter Technology by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 769,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $122,794,000 after buying an additional 103,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolf Hill Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Carpenter Technology in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $73,850,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

About Carpenter Technology

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.