CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) Short Interest Down 10.7% in June

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,000,000 shares, a drop of 10.7% from the May 31st total of 1,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 147,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.8 days. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

CTS Price Performance

Shares of CTS stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $49.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 53,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 151,463. The company has a current ratio of 3.32, a quick ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.10 and a 200-day moving average of $46.49. CTS has a twelve month low of $35.50 and a twelve month high of $54.73. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34 and a beta of 0.60.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The electronics maker reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. CTS had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 10.06%. The firm had revenue of $125.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $126.75 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. CTS’s quarterly revenue was down 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CTS will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

CTS Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Martin Baumeister sold 5,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $300,351.87. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,037,898.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Martin Baumeister sold 5,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ashish Agrawal sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 127,977 shares in the company, valued at $6,014,919. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,326,765 in the last three months. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CTS

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in CTS by 160.3% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 963,954 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $45,103,000 after purchasing an additional 593,641 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CTS during the 4th quarter worth about $9,855,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CTS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,859,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CTS by 181.4% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 216,035 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $9,017,000 after purchasing an additional 139,269 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in CTS by 4.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,729,923 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $113,947,000 after purchasing an additional 122,600 shares during the last quarter. 96.87% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised CTS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th.

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.