William Blair Research Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI)

CRA International, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRAI) – Investment analysts at William Blair raised their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for CRA International in a report issued on Thursday, May 2nd. William Blair analyst A. Nicholas now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $6.13 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.94. The consensus estimate for CRA International’s current full-year earnings is $5.99 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for CRA International’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.64 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.50 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.61 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $6.64 EPS.

CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The business services provider reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.53. CRA International had a return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 6.73%. The firm had revenue of $161.61 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.51 million.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of CRA International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday.

CRA International Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:CRAI opened at $153.82 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.28. CRA International has a 1-year low of $81.29 and a 1-year high of $162.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.22.

CRA International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. CRA International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRA International

In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of CRA International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.66, for a total transaction of $1,039,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,611,024.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Paul A. Maleh sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.66, for a total value of $1,039,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 170,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,611,024.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Aiken Avery sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.05, for a total transaction of $138,050.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,140,327.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,750 shares of company stock worth $1,487,085 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRA International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CRA International by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,615 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC increased its position in CRA International by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 4,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRA International by 46.2% during the third quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 7,928 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 2,504 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of CRA International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 10,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of CRA International by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 18,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

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.