Short Interest in CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) Expands By 6.0%

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 745,900 shares, an increase of 6.0% from the November 15th total of 703,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 141,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.3 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTS has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CTS from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank cut CTS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

CTS Price Performance

CTS traded down $1.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.62. 197,290 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 149,377. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.45. CTS has a 1 year low of $40.09 and a 1 year high of $59.68.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The electronics maker reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.06. CTS had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 11.66%. The firm had revenue of $132.42 million for the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CTS will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CTS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. CTS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kieran M. O’sullivan sold 6,690 shares of CTS stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.83, for a total transaction of $373,502.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 375,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,972,148.69. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 59,956 shares of company stock valued at $3,331,185 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in CTS during the second quarter valued at $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CTS by 132.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in CTS in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in CTS during the third quarter worth approximately $92,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in CTS during the second quarter valued at approximately $157,000. 96.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.