Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $132.17 and last traded at $139.03, with a volume of 166639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $140.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Charles River Associates in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Charles River Associates from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.00.

Charles River Associates Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $898.13 million, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $159.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.76.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The business services provider reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by ($0.03). Charles River Associates had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 26.02%. The business had revenue of $200.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $193.81 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Charles River Associates will post 8.4 EPS for the current year.

Charles River Associates Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Charles River Associates’s dividend payout ratio is 31.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.27, for a total value of $410,107.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,164.42. This represents a 13.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Charles River Associates

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 4th quarter valued at $401,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Charles River Associates by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,180 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in Charles River Associates by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 4,388 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Charles River Associates by 154.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 5,995 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 3,638 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

About Charles River Associates

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI) is a global consulting firm specializing in economic, financial and management advisory services. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company provides expert analysis to support litigation, regulatory proceedings, and strategic decision-making. Its multidisciplinary teams draw on academic rigor and industry experience to deliver quantitative and qualitative insights tailored to clients’ needs.

The firm’s service offerings include competition economics, antitrust and merger analysis, intellectual property valuation and damages assessment, and risk management.