CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) Short Interest Update

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 72,000 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the December 15th total of 60,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 35,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

CRA International Trading Down 0.1 %

CRAI traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $182.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 31,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,160. The business's 50-day moving average price is $189.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.09. CRA International has a 12 month low of $104.23 and a 12 month high of $210.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.14.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.19. CRA International had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 24.46%. The company had revenue of $167.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $166.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that CRA International will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

CRA International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. This is a positive change from CRA International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. CRA International's payout ratio is presently 31.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of CRA International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $1,436,625.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 151,712 shares in the company, valued at $29,060,433.60. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in CRA International during the third quarter worth $164,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in CRA International during the second quarter worth $221,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CRA International by 2.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,095 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in CRA International during the third quarter worth $573,000. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in CRA International by 48.7% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,460 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the period. 84.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRAI. Barrington Research lifted their price objective on shares of CRA International from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of CRA International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

CRA International Company Profile

CRA International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides economic, financial, and management consulting services worldwide. It advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings; and guides corporations through business strategy and performance-related issues.

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