CTS (NYSE:CTS) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of CTS (NYSE:CTS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Thursday.

CTS Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CTS opened at $50.63 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CTS has a 1-year low of $35.50 and a 1-year high of $54.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.78 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $50.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.33.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The electronics maker reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. CTS had a net margin of 10.06% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $125.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.75 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. CTS’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CTS will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

CTS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. CTS’s payout ratio is 9.41%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ashish Agrawal sold 800 shares of CTS stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $37,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 127,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,014,919. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Martin Baumeister sold 5,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $300,351.87. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,037,898.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ashish Agrawal sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $37,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 127,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,014,919. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,855 shares of company stock valued at $2,330,290 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in CTS by 160.3% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 963,954 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $45,103,000 after acquiring an additional 593,641 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CTS in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,855,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CTS during the fourth quarter worth about $8,859,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CTS by 181.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 216,035 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $9,017,000 after buying an additional 139,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in CTS by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,729,923 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $113,947,000 after buying an additional 122,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.87% of the company’s stock.

About CTS

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.