Phocas Financial Corp. Reduces Holdings in Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS)

Phocas Financial Corp. lowered its stake in shares of Carpenter Technology Co. (NYSE:CRS) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,031 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 976 shares during the period. Carpenter Technology makes up 1.8% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Phocas Financial Corp. owned about 0.16% of Carpenter Technology worth $13,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in Carpenter Technology by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 2,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 669 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Carpenter Technology by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,521 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $368,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Carpenter Technology by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.03% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In other Carpenter Technology news, Director I Martin Inglis sold 3,433 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total transaction of $678,566.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,330,647.12. The trade was a 33.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRS. BTIG Research set a $230.00 target price on shares of Carpenter Technology in a report on Friday, January 31st. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Carpenter Technology from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Carpenter Technology from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.00.

Carpenter Technology Stock Performance

CRS stock opened at $230.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 43.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.80 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $193.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.32. Carpenter Technology Co. has a fifty-two week low of $95.17 and a fifty-two week high of $236.59.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.14. Carpenter Technology had a return on equity of 19.88% and a net margin of 9.34%. The firm had revenue of $727.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.67 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Carpenter Technology announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, April 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.33%.

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.