CTS (NYSE:CTS) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

CTS Stock Performance

NYSE:CTS opened at $50.63 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.37. CTS has a fifty-two week low of $35.50 and a fifty-two week high of $54.73. The company has a quick ratio of 2.71, a current ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $1.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.78 and a beta of 0.60.

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

CTS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.04 per share. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. CTS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CTS

In other news, CFO Ashish Agrawal sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,014,919. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Martin Baumeister sold 5,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $300,351.87. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,811 shares in the company, valued at $1,037,898.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Ashish Agrawal sold 800 shares of CTS stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total transaction of $37,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 48,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,326,765 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CTS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in CTS by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,344,017 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $58,787,000 after purchasing an additional 94,901 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of CTS in the fourth quarter worth about $16,197,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CTS in the fourth quarter worth about $9,855,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of CTS by 18.7% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 16,159 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $674,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in shares of CTS by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 63,888 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,794,000 after acquiring an additional 11,079 shares during the period. 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.