Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Shares Break Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $160.85 and traded as high as $182.35. Charles River Associates shares last traded at $179.89, with a volume of 96,800 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Charles River Associates from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.00.

Charles River Associates Stock Up 9.6%

The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $171.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $161.23.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.01. Charles River Associates had a return on equity of 27.31% and a net margin of 6.20%. The business had revenue of $210.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.91 million. On average, analysts expect that Charles River Associates will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles River Associates Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. Charles River Associates’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles River Associates

In other news, EVP Jonathan Yellin sold 2,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.25, for a total transaction of $389,812.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,932,257.25. The trade was a 16.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRAI. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,959,000. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in Charles River Associates during the 2nd quarter valued at about $357,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter valued at about $890,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,046,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter valued at about $590,000. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Charles River Associates Company Profile

Charles River Associates, operating as CRA International, Inc, is a global consulting firm that provides economic, financial, and management consulting services. The company advises corporations, law firms, government agencies, and other organizations on complex business, legal, regulatory, and strategic matters.

CRA’s services include economic and financial analysis for litigation and regulatory proceedings, antitrust and competition consulting, corporate strategy, business performance improvement, and investigations.