We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Reasons to Retain Charles River (CRAI) in Your Portfolio Now
Read MoreHide Full Article
CRA International, Inc. (CRAI - Free Report) , or Charles River Associates, has had an impressive run over the past six months. The stock has gained 32.5%, outperforming the 20.5% growth of the industry it belongs to and the 15.1% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.
CRAI has an impressive Growth Score of A. This style score condenses all the essential metrics from a company’s financial statements to get a true sense of the quality and sustainability of its growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRAI’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $5.7, indicating 3.7% year-over-year growth. The company has a long-term (three to five years) expected earnings growth rate of 16%.
Charles River has a diversified business with service offerings across areas of functional expertise, client base and geographical regions. Being proficient in multiple industries helps the company meet varying client needs and offer other innovative services. Further, it gets to know about business strategies adopted across the world. A multidisciplinary setup enables it to bring experts from all fields under one platform. Diversification in business helps reduce its dependence on any specific market, industry or geographic area. It also increases the company’s ability to adapt to changing conditions.
Commitment to shareholder returns makes Charles River a reliable way for investors to compound wealth over the long term. In 2023, 2022 and 2021, the company repurchased shares worth $31.4 billion, $27.6 million and $45 million, respectively. It paid $10.8 million, $9.6 million and $8.3 million as dividends in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Charles River's current ratio at the end of fourth-quarter 2023 was pegged at 1.12, higher than the current ratio of 1.11 reported at the end of the previous quarter. A current ratio of more than 1 indicates that the company is less likely to face any issue to meet its short-term obligations.
A Risk
Higher talent costs due to a competitive talent market are hurting consulting services companies like Charles River. The industry is labor-intensive and heavily dependent on foreign talent. Moreover, while advancements in automation and AI offer massive opportunities to the industry, these technologies enable clients to comprehend and integrate new methods to improve performance, thereby creating uncertainty for consulting services firms.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Charles River currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Image: Shutterstock
Reasons to Retain Charles River (CRAI) in Your Portfolio Now
CRA International, Inc. (CRAI - Free Report) , or Charles River Associates, has had an impressive run over the past six months. The stock has gained 32.5%, outperforming the 20.5% growth of the industry it belongs to and the 15.1% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.
CRAI has an impressive Growth Score of A. This style score condenses all the essential metrics from a company’s financial statements to get a true sense of the quality and sustainability of its growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRAI’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $5.7, indicating 3.7% year-over-year growth. The company has a long-term (three to five years) expected earnings growth rate of 16%.
Charles River Associates Price
Charles River Associates price | Charles River Associates Quote
Factors That Bode Well
Charles River has a diversified business with service offerings across areas of functional expertise, client base and geographical regions. Being proficient in multiple industries helps the company meet varying client needs and offer other innovative services. Further, it gets to know about business strategies adopted across the world. A multidisciplinary setup enables it to bring experts from all fields under one platform. Diversification in business helps reduce its dependence on any specific market, industry or geographic area. It also increases the company’s ability to adapt to changing conditions.
Commitment to shareholder returns makes Charles River a reliable way for investors to compound wealth over the long term. In 2023, 2022 and 2021, the company repurchased shares worth $31.4 billion, $27.6 million and $45 million, respectively. It paid $10.8 million, $9.6 million and $8.3 million as dividends in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Charles River's current ratio at the end of fourth-quarter 2023 was pegged at 1.12, higher than the current ratio of 1.11 reported at the end of the previous quarter. A current ratio of more than 1 indicates that the company is less likely to face any issue to meet its short-term obligations.
A Risk
Higher talent costs due to a competitive talent market are hurting consulting services companies like Charles River. The industry is labor-intensive and heavily dependent on foreign talent. Moreover, while advancements in automation and AI offer massive opportunities to the industry, these technologies enable clients to comprehend and integrate new methods to improve performance, thereby creating uncertainty for consulting services firms.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Charles River currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Block (SQ - Free Report) and APi Group (APG - Free Report) .
Block sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can seethe complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
SQ has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 33%. SQ delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.8%, on average.
APi Group currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. APG has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 17.9%.
APG delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.1%, on average.