CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) Short Interest Up 56.5% in March

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) was the target of 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. Based on an average daily volume of 38,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other CRA International news, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.51, for a total transaction of $333,392.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,631,692.13. This trade represents a 8.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas Aiken Avery sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.05, for a total transaction of $199,050.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,919,864.45. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,850 shares of company stock worth $3,902,083 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRA International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CRA International in the fourth quarter valued at $9,389,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted 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. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in CRA International by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 29,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,450,000 after purchasing an additional 10,455 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in CRA International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $656,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in CRA International by 102.0% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

CRA International Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CRAI opened at $173.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.09. CRA International has a 12 month low of $133.54 and a 12 month high of $214.01. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.07.

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

CRA International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. CRA International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

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.