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

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 60,600 shares, a growth of 27.8% from the November 30th total of 47,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 37,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRAI. StockNews.com lowered shares of CRA International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barrington Research increased their price objective on CRA International from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRA International

In other CRA International news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total transaction of $1,436,625.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,060,433.60. This represents a 4.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of CRA International during the 3rd quarter worth $164,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in CRA International during the second quarter worth about $221,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in CRA International by 2.9% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,095 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in CRA International in the third quarter valued at about $573,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of CRA International by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

CRA International Price Performance

CRAI opened at $186.84 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.93. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. CRA International has a 1 year low of $97.31 and a 1 year high of $210.70.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.19. CRA International had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 24.46%. The business had revenue of $167.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CRA International will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

CRA International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. This is an increase from CRA International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. CRA International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.72%.

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.