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

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 48,300 shares, a decline of 18.5% from the October 15th total of 59,300 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 36,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

CRA International Stock Down 1.6 %

CRAI opened at $186.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. CRA International has a twelve month low of $92.07 and a twelve month high of $208.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $181.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.34.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $167.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $166.83 million. CRA International had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 6.41%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CRA International will post 7.08 earnings per share for the current year.

CRA International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This is a positive change from CRA International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. CRA International’s payout ratio is currently 27.18%.

Insider Activity at CRA International

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.33, for a total transaction of $1,187,475.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,212 shares in the company, valued at $25,208,035.96. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRA International

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in CRA International during the first quarter worth about $115,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of CRA International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CRA International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in CRA International by 3.6% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 3,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in CRA International by 2.5% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRAI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barrington Research raised their price objective on CRA International from $194.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered CRA International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

About CRA International

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.