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

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 72,000 shares, a growth 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 currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at CRA International

In other CRA International news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 151,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,060,433.60. This trade represents a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRA International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRA International by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 161,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CRA International by 178.8% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 148,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,986,000 after acquiring an additional 95,050 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRA International by 41.9% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 78,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,699,000 after acquiring an additional 23,078 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRA International by 1.0% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 18,660 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,271,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in shares of CRA International by 20.6% in the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 8,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

CRA International Price Performance

CRAI stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $182.75. 31,364 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 34,160. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $189.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.13. CRA International has a one year low of $104.23 and a one year high of $210.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.14.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $167.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.83 million. CRA International had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 24.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CRA International will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRA International Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CRAI shares. Barrington Research raised their price target on shares of CRA International from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of CRA International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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.