Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Carter Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARE) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $23.71 and last traded at $23.60, with a volume of 288400 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Carter Bankshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Carter Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Zacks Research raised Carter Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Carter Bankshares to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Carter Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Carter Bankshares Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $523.00 million, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.44.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $39.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $40.66 million. Carter Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.64% and a net margin of 12.32%. On average, research analysts forecast that Carter Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CARE. Fourthstone LLC lifted its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,236,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,307,000 after purchasing an additional 197,850 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,130,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,934,000 after buying an additional 24,621 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Carter Bankshares by 12.9% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 441,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,561,000 after buying an additional 50,519 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carter Bankshares by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 395,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,781,000 after buying an additional 26,800 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 349,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,061,000 after buying an additional 12,935 shares during the last quarter. 41.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Carter Bankshares Company Profile

Carter Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Suffolk, Virginia, operating primarily through its subsidiary, Carter Bank & Trust. The company offers a full range of commercial and retail banking services, serving individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Its financial products are designed to meet the needs of local customers across southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

Carter Bank & Trust provides deposit accounts, including checking, savings and money market products, as well as certificates of deposit.