CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 745,900 shares, a growth of 6.0% from the November 15th total of 703,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 141,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered CTS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank cut CTS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Transactions at CTS

In other news, CEO Kieran M. O’sullivan sold 31,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.81, for a total transaction of $1,784,692.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 423,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,644,743.65. This represents a 7.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,956 shares of company stock worth $3,331,185. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CTS

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTS. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in CTS by 2.1% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 12,861 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CTS by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,529 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $887,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in CTS by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,637 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in CTS by 132.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in CTS by 3.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,372 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $778,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. 96.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CTS Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE CTS traded down $1.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $55.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 197,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,377. CTS has a twelve month low of $40.09 and a twelve month high of $59.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.71 and a 200 day moving average of $50.45.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.06. CTS had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 11.66%. The company had revenue of $132.42 million for the quarter. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CTS will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CTS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. CTS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.25%.

CTS Company Profile

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.