Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Price Target Raised to $140.00 at Benchmark

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) had its price target upped by Benchmark from $100.00 to $140.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Benchmark currently has a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CRS. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Carpenter Technology from $90.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Northcoast Research restated a neutral rating on shares of Carpenter Technology in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $109.67.

Carpenter Technology Stock Up 2.5 %

CRS traded up $2.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $106.11. 536,588 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,130. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.91. The company has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.25 and a beta of 1.47. Carpenter Technology has a fifty-two week low of $44.40 and a fifty-two week high of $106.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 3.20 and a quick ratio of 1.45.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $684.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $707.73 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 4.83% and a return on equity of 12.75%. The business’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 23rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 22nd. This is an increase from Carpenter Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Carpenter Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.42%.

Insider Activity at Carpenter Technology

In related news, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 802 shares of Carpenter Technology stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.11, for a total value of $81,892.22. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,183.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Carpenter Technology news, Director Steven E. Karol sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.57, for a total transaction of $3,117,670.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 244,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,551,751.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Elizabeth A. Socci sold 802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.11, for a total transaction of $81,892.22. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,183.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carpenter Technology

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carpenter Technology in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 322.5% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,162 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.