CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 352,400 shares, a drop of 8.4% from the January 15th total of 384,600 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 152,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

CTS Price Performance

NYSE:CTS traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $46.17. 110,452 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,012. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. CTS has a 1 year low of $42.63 and a 1 year high of $59.68. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.28.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The electronics maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.06). CTS had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 12.67%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CTS will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CTS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. CTS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CTS. StockNews.com cut shares of CTS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 9th. Scotiabank lowered shares of CTS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kieran M. O’sullivan sold 12,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.50, for a total value of $710,067.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 400,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,225,308. This trade represents a 3.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 59,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,331,185 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CTS

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in CTS by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,218,002 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $116,956,000 after purchasing an additional 73,435 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in CTS by 23.1% during the third quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,993,863 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $96,463,000 after acquiring an additional 374,104 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in CTS by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 806,180 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $39,010,000 after acquiring an additional 33,449 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in CTS by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 392,690 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $20,707,000 after acquiring an additional 7,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in CTS by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 338,930 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $17,872,000 after acquiring an additional 31,803 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.87% of the company’s stock.

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.