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Pro-Investor Steps Up Charles River (CRAI) Despite Low Liquidity

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The stock of CRA International, Inc., which conducts business as Charles River Associates (CRAI - Free Report) currently benefits from its diversified business as well as shareholder-friendly steps.

CRAI’s non-GAAP EPS (excluding 1 cent from non-recurring items) for second-quarter 2022 came in at $1.58, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 25.4% and increasing 3.3% year over year. Revenues of $149.1 million surpassed the consensus mark by 0.3% and increased nearly 1% year over year.

Shares of CRAI have inched up 0.2% in the past year against a 3.3% fall of the industry it belongs to.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

How is CRAI Faring?

We are impressed with Charles River’s consistent record of returning value to its shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. In 2021, 2020 and 2019, CRAI repurchased shares worth $44.9 million, $13.4 million and $18.1 million, respectively. It paid out $8.29 million, $7.50 million and $6.54 million of dividends during 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Such moves underline a company’s commitment to adding shareholder value and cementing its confidence in its business. These initiatives also instill investors’ confidence in the stock and positively impact its earnings per share.

Charles River has a diversified business model with service offerings across functional expertise, client base and geographical regions. Being proficient in multiple industries helps CRAI meet varying client needs and offer other innovative services.

CRAI gets to know about business strategies adopted across the world. This multidisciplinary set-up enables it to bring experts from all fields under one platform. Diversification in business helps reduce a company’s dependence on any specific market, industry or geographic area. It also increases its ability to adapt to changing conditions.

Charles River's current ratio at the end of second-quarter 2022 was pegged at 1.08, lower than the current ratio of 1.16 reported at the end of the previous quarter. A decreasing current ratio is not desirable as it indicates probable problems in meeting the short-term debt obligations.

Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks

Charles River currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see  the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Investors interested in the broader Zacks Business Services sector can also consider stocks like Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR - Free Report) , Genpact Limited (G - Free Report) and H&R Block, Inc. (HRB - Free Report) .

Avis Budget sports a Zacks Rank of 1 at present. CAR has an earnings growth rate of 108.4% for 2022.
Avis Budget delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 69.5%, on average.  

Genpact carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. G has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 12.3%.
Genpact delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.1%, on average.  

H&R Block flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1, currently. HRB has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 12.5%.
HRB delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 19.2%, on average.
 

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