William Blair Issues Optimistic Forecast for CRAI Earnings

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) – Investment analysts at William Blair boosted their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Charles River Associates in a report released on Thursday, October 30th. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $8.15 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $7.98. The consensus estimate for Charles River Associates’ current full-year earnings is $7.52 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Charles River Associates’ Q1 2026 earnings at $2.41 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.16 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.15 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.00 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on CRAI. Barrington Research raised their price objective on shares of Charles River Associates from $235.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Charles River Associates in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Charles River Associates from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.00.

Charles River Associates Stock Down 1.6%

CRAI stock opened at $188.29 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.28. Charles River Associates has a twelve month low of $152.57 and a twelve month high of $214.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.90.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $185.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $179.42 million. Charles River Associates had a return on equity of 25.51% and a net margin of 7.93%. Charles River Associates has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Charles River Associates Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Charles River Associates’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. Charles River Associates’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles River Associates news, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total transaction of $328,002.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,323 shares in the company, valued at $3,246,849.89. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Charles River Associates

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Associates during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Associates during the third quarter worth approximately $217,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Charles River Associates during the first quarter worth approximately $329,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the 1st quarter worth approximately $360,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles River Associates in the 1st quarter valued at $628,000. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Charles River Associates

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.