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

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 352,400 shares, a decrease 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 presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CTS shares. StockNews.com cut shares of CTS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 9th. Scotiabank downgraded 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 related news, CEO Kieran M. O’sullivan sold 8,494 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $462,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 382,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,837,148.50. This represents a 2.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 59,956 shares of company stock worth $3,331,185 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CTS

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of CTS by 572.4% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 659 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CTS by 608.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 737 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of CTS by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,713 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CTS during the third quarter worth about $92,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CTS during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. 96.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CTS Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE CTS traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $46.17. 110,452 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,012. 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 company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.28. CTS has a one year low of $42.63 and a one year high of $59.68.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The electronics maker reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.06). CTS had a return on equity of 12.67% and a net margin of 11.27%. On average, analysts predict that CTS will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CTS Dividend Announcement

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

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.