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

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 72,000 shares, an increase of 18.8% from the December 15th total of 60,600 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 35,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barrington Research upped their target price on CRA International from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered CRA International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

CRA International Trading Down 0.1 %

CRA International stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $182.75. The company had a trading volume of 31,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,160. CRA International has a 12-month low of $104.23 and a 12-month high of $210.70. The company’s fifty day moving average is $189.28 and its 200-day moving average is $179.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G 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. CRA International had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 6.41%. The firm had revenue of $167.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $166.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CRA International will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRA International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a positive change from CRA International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. CRA International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $1,436,625.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 151,712 shares in the company, valued at $29,060,433.60. This represents a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CRA International by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 161,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,559 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its stake in CRA International by 41.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 78,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,699,000 after purchasing an additional 23,078 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 95,050 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in CRA International in the 3rd quarter valued at $573,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in CRA International by 102.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

About CRA International

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.