CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 831,900 shares, a drop of 7.6% from the September 15th total of 900,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 150,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CTS

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CTS. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of CTS by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,344,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $58,787,000 after buying an additional 94,901 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of CTS by 160.3% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 963,954 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $45,103,000 after purchasing an additional 593,641 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CTS by 11.3% in the 1st quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 307,176 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $14,373,000 after purchasing an additional 31,069 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of CTS by 3.0% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,735,534 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $87,870,000 after purchasing an additional 50,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of CTS by 55.1% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 132,729 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $6,720,000 after purchasing an additional 47,149 shares in the last quarter. 96.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CTS Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE CTS traded up $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $49.32. The stock had a trading volume of 115,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,641. CTS has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $55.47. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.01 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.85 and a current ratio of 3.41.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. CTS had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 10.70%. The company had revenue of $130.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $133.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. CTS’s revenue was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that CTS will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current year.

CTS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. CTS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded CTS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

About CTS

CTS Corporation manufactures and sells sensors, actuators, and connectivity components in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company provides encoders, rotary position sensors, slide potentiometers, industrial and commercial rotary potentiometers. It also provides non-contacting, and contacting pedals; and eBrake pedals.