CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) Short Interest Down 7.6% in September

CTS Co. (NYSE:CTS) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 831,900 shares, a decrease of 7.6% from the September 15th total of 900,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 150,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised CTS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th.

Institutional Trading of CTS

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pitcairn Co. raised its stake in shares of CTS by 3.2% during the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 7,096 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its position in CTS by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 11,364 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in CTS by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 17,529 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CTS by 5.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,637 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in CTS by 132.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.87% of the company’s stock.

CTS Price Performance

CTS stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $49.32. 115,141 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 149,641. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.85 and a current ratio of 3.41. CTS has a one year low of $35.50 and a one year high of $55.47. The stock has a market cap of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.96.

CTS (NYSE:CTS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The electronics maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $130.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $133.33 million. CTS had a net margin of 10.70% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CTS will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CTS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $0.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.32%. CTS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.41%.

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.