Charles River (CRAI) Q4 Earnings Lag Estimates, Revenues Top

CRAI OMC IPG G

Charles River Associates (CRAI - Free Report) reported mixed fourth-quarter 2019 results with earnings missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate but revenues beating the same.

Non-GAAP EPS came in at 77 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.3% and decreased 8.3% year over year. Revenues of $119.3 million surpassed the consensus mark by 3.6% and increased 9.7% year over year.

The company delivered double-digit year-over-year revenue growth in Finance, Forensic Services and Labor & Employment practices.

The company’s shares have declined 3.3% over the past year, against the 11.9% growth of the industry it belongs to.

Other Quarterly Details

The company delivered 72% utilization and headcount was up by 13.4%.

Non-GAAP EBITDA decreased 2.4% year over year to $11.3 million. Non-GAAP EBITDA margin decreased 120 basis points (bps) year over year to 9.4%.

The company exited the fourth quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $25.6 million compared with $19.8 million at the end of the prior quarter. It generated $47.7 million of cash from operating activities and capex was $4.1 million. In the quarter, Charles River paid out $1.8 million of dividend.

2020 Guidance

Charles River expects 2020 revenues in the range of $495 million to $510 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $510.4 million. The company expects non-GAAP EBITDA margin in the range of 9.2% to 10.2%.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Currently, Charles River carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Interpublic (IPG - Free Report) , Omnicom (OMC - Free Report) and Genpact (G - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2.  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Long-term expected EPS (three to five years) growth rate for Interpublic, Omnicom and Genpact is 4.5%, 5.6% and 11.9%, respectively.

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2019, while the S&P 500 gained and impressive +53.6%, five of our strategies returned +65.8%, +97.1%, +118.0%, +175.7% and even +186.7%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2019, while the S&P averaged +6.0% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +54.7% per year.

See their latest picks free >>

Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"

From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.

It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.

This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.

Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>