CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) Short Interest Up 27.8% in December

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.55, for a total value of $1,436,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 151,712 shares in the company, valued at $29,060,433.60. The trade was a 4.71 % 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. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRA International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRAI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in CRA International by 2.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 61,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,532,000 after buying an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake 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. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CRA International by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in CRA International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in CRA International during the third quarter valued at approximately $573,000. 84.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

CRA International Stock Performance

CRA International stock opened at $185.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.86 and a 200 day moving average of $177.97. CRA International has a one year low of $97.31 and a one 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 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 analyst estimates of $166.83 million. CRA International had a net margin of 6.41% and a return on equity of 24.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CRA International will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRA International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is an increase from CRA International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. CRA International’s payout ratio 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.