CTS (NYSE:CTS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

CTS (NYSE:CTS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

CTS Stock Performance

CTS traded up $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $50.34. 93,602 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 150,978. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $50.69 and a 200 day moving average of $46.23. 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 52 week low of $35.50 and a 52 week high of $54.73.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The electronics maker reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $125.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $126.75 million. CTS had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 10.06%. The firm’s revenue was down 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.61 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CTS will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Ashish Agrawal sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $37,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 127,977 shares in the company, valued at $6,014,919. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Ashish Agrawal sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kieran M. O’sullivan sold 2,064 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 $97,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 499,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,476,406. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,855 shares of company stock worth $2,330,290 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CTS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CTS. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in CTS by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 16,159 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in CTS by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,185 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in CTS by 181.4% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 216,035 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $9,017,000 after acquiring an additional 139,269 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in CTS by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 17,969 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in CTS by 339.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 13,876 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 10,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.