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

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) saw a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 87,000 shares, a growth of 56.5% from the February 28th total of 55,600 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 38,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

CRA International Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:CRAI traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $174.31. 9,385 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 38,594. CRA International has a fifty-two week low of $133.54 and a fifty-two week high of $214.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.09.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The business services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $176.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $166.29 million. CRA International had a return on equity of 25.95% and a net margin of 6.79%. As a group, analysts expect that CRA International will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current year.

CRA International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. CRA International’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research increased their target price on CRA International from $212.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Insider Transactions at CRA International

In related news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.28, for a total value of $1,322,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 142,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,035,638.16. This represents a 5.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Daniel K. Mahoney sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.80, for a total transaction of $185,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,258,027.40. The trade was a 7.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,850 shares of company stock valued at $3,902,083. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRA International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in CRA International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $164,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of CRA International by 102.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in CRA International by 20.6% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 8,535 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,496,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CRA International by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 161,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,268,000 after buying an additional 1,559 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in CRA International by 41.9% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 78,136 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $13,699,000 after acquiring an additional 23,078 shares during the last quarter. 84.13% of the stock is 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.