CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 776,100 shares, a decrease of 6.7% from the September 30th total of 831,900 shares. Currently, 2.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 145,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CTS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CTS during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of CTS by 132.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in CTS during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of CTS during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CTS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $157,000. 96.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CTS Price Performance

Shares of CTS traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $49.52. 199,774 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 149,168. The company has a current ratio of 3.41, a quick ratio of 2.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.81 and a 200 day moving average of $49.15. CTS has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $55.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86 and a beta of 0.57.

CTS (NYSE:CTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $132.42 million during the quarter. CTS had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 10.70%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CTS will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CTS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. CTS's dividend payout ratio is 9.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on CTS shares. StockNews.com upgraded CTS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank downgraded CTS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

About CTS

CTS Corporation manufactures and sells sensors, actuators, and connectivity components in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides encoders, rotary position sensors, slide potentiometers, industrial and commercial rotary potentiometers. It also provides non-contacting, and contacting pedals; and eBrake pedals.