Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS) Given Buy Rating at Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Free Report) in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $175.00 target price on the basic materials company's stock.

Separately, BTIG Research upped their price objective on Carpenter Technology from $120.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.60.

Carpenter Technology Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE CRS traded up $1.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $155.45. 893,850 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 587,593. Carpenter Technology has a 12-month low of $58.87 and a 12-month high of $166.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 3.41 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $150.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.19.

Carpenter Technology (NYSE:CRS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 $1.57 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $717.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $742.96 million. Carpenter Technology had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 15.81%. Carpenter Technology's revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Carpenter Technology will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carpenter Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 22nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 22nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Carpenter Technology's payout ratio is 30.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Carpenter Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $476,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Carpenter Technology by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,212 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Carpenter Technology by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 64,163 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,239,000 after acquiring an additional 4,094 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in Carpenter Technology by 15,857.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 23,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,794,000 after acquiring an additional 23,628 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Carpenter Technology by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,968 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,910,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. 92.03% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.