Charles River Associates CRAI has performed extremely well over the past year and has the potential to sustain the momentum in the near term. Consequently, you should add the stock to your portfolio if you have not taken advantage of the share price appreciation yet.

What Makes CRAI an Attractive Pick?

An Outperformer: A glimpse at the company’s price trend reveals that the stock has had an impressive run over the past year. Shares of CRAI have surged 17% against the industry’s 13% decline.

Solid Rank: CRAI carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present and has a VGM Score of A. Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of A or B, when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2, offer the best investment opportunities for investors. Thus, the company appears to be a compelling investment proposition.

Northward Estimate Revisions: Three earnings estimates for 2025 have moved north in the past 60 days versus no southward revision, indicating analysts’ confidence in the company. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has increased 3.1% at the same time.

Positive Earnings Surprise History: Charles River has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 25.9%.

Strong Growth Prospects: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRAI’s 2025 revenues is pegged at $717.7 million, indicating 4.4% year-over-year growth. The consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at $7.75 per share, implying 2% growth year over year.

Growth Factors: Given the nature of its business, CRAI’s success depends on the talent that it can acquire and retain. CRAI has built and sustained a strong reputation for delivering high-quality consulting services driven by its highly qualified professionals. Around 74% of its senior staff hold advanced degrees, including doctorates, and are recognized field leaders. At the end of 2024, CRAI had 946 consulting staff, comprising 151 officers, 552 other senior staff and 243 junior staff.

Charles River returns value to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Over the years, the company has steadily increased its dividend payouts, paying $9.6 million in 2022, $10.8 million in 2023 and $12.3 million in 2024. Dividend per share has grown alongside, rising from $1.24 in 2022 to $1.44 in 2023 and $1.75 in 2024, reflecting the company’s consistent commitment to enhancing shareholder returns.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks are Affirm AFRM and Baidu BIDU.

Affirm sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

AFRM has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 36.2%. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 84.1% on average.

Baidu currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1, too.

BIDU has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 4.2%. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 19.1% on average.

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Charles River Associates (CRAI) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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