Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Sunday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Charles River Associates in a research report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Charles River Associates in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $235.00.

Charles River Associates Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CRAI opened at $180.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.40. Charles River Associates has a fifty-two week low of $152.57 and a fifty-two week high of $214.66.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $186.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.34 million. Charles River Associates had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 25.51%. Charles River Associates has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts predict that Charles River Associates will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Charles River Associates Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles River Associates’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.73%.

Insider Activity at Charles River Associates

In other news, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.43, for a total transaction of $328,002.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,246,849.89. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Associates

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter worth $4,923,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Associates by 422.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 18,950 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 15,323 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Associates by 243.8% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 8,163 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles River Associates in the 2nd quarter worth $1,424,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Charles River Associates by 259.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 5,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

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.