Zacks Research Issues Negative Forecast for CRAI Earnings

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q1 2026 earnings per share estimates for Charles River Associates in a research note issued on Thursday, March 19th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $2.00 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.20. The consensus estimate for Charles River Associates’ current full-year earnings is $7.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Charles River Associates’ Q2 2026 earnings at $1.96 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.99 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.17 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $8.12 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $2.63 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.24 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $1.91 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.17 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $8.95 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $9.37 EPS.

Several other analysts have also commented on CRAI. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Charles River Associates from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Charles River Associates in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Charles River Associates in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.00.

Charles River Associates Price Performance

CRAI opened at $158.42 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.58. Charles River Associates has a 1 year low of $149.96 and a 1 year high of $227.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.92.

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ:CRAI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The business services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $196.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $190.54 million. Charles River Associates had a return on equity of 26.15% and a net margin of 7.29%.

Institutional Trading of Charles River Associates

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of Charles River Associates during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Charles River Associates by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 171,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,120,000 after buying an additional 3,138 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Charles River Associates by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 13,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Charles River Associates by 259.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 5,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Charles River Associates by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 3,910 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles River Associates news, EVP Jonathan D. Yellin sold 2,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.27, for a total transaction of $410,107.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,560,164.42. This trade represents a 13.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.70% of the company’s stock.

Charles River Associates Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Charles River Associates’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.04%.

Charles River Associates News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Charles River Associates this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised several 2027-period forecasts — Q1 2027 to $2.63 (from $2.49), Q2 2027 to $2.24 (from $2.02), and Q3 2027 to $1.91 (from $1.83). These upward revisions suggest Zacks sees stronger recovery/growth in 2027. MarketBeat CRAI
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks increased FY2027 to $8.95 (from $8.76) and published an FY2028 projection of $9.37 — a positive signal for longer‑term earnings trajectory. MarketBeat CRAI
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest note showed an odd/insignificant print (reported as a large increase but listed as 0 shares), so there’s no clear short‑pressure signal from that data. MarketBeat CRAI
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed FY2026 estimates (now $8.12, down from $8.57) and cut multiple 2026 quarter forecasts — Q1 2026 to $2.00 (from $2.20), Q2 2026 to $1.96 (from $2.00), Q3 2026 to $1.99 (from $2.04), and Q4 2026 to $2.17 (from $2.33). Those near‑term downgrades weigh on expectations for 2026 profitability. MarketBeat CRAI
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also reduced one later quarter forecast (Q4 2027) to $2.17 (from $2.42), a sign that some parts of future-year timing/visibility remain uncertain. MarketBeat CRAI

About Charles River Associates

Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI) is a global consulting firm specializing in economic, financial and management advisory services. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company provides expert analysis to support litigation, regulatory proceedings, and strategic decision-making. Its multidisciplinary teams draw on academic rigor and industry experience to deliver quantitative and qualitative insights tailored to clients’ needs.

The firm’s service offerings include competition economics, antitrust and merger analysis, intellectual property valuation and damages assessment, and risk management.