Zacks Research Has Positive Outlook for CRAI FY2024 Earnings

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2024 earnings estimates for CRA International in a research note issued on Thursday, November 21st. Zacks Research analyst S. Dey now expects that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $7.06 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $6.80. The consensus estimate for CRA International’s current full-year earnings is $7.15 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for CRA International’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.50 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.83 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.84 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.66 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.69 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.02 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.92 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.73 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.80 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.38 EPS.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $167.75 million for 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of CRA International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barrington Research boosted their price target on shares of CRA International from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

CRA International Trading Up 2.9 %

CRAI opened at $199.30 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13. CRA International has a 12 month low of $92.07 and a 12 month high of $208.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $185.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.86.

CRA International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This is a boost from CRA International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. CRA International’s payout ratio is 27.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 151,712 shares in the company, valued at $29,060,433.60. The trade was a 4.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of CRA International during the 1st quarter worth about $26,924,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in CRA International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $573,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in CRA International by 178.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 148,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,986,000 after buying an additional 95,050 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in CRA International by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after buying an additional 2,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in CRA International by 21.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 1,912 shares during the last quarter. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.