Wall Street Zen Upgrades Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) to “Strong-Buy”

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on CRI. Zacks Research raised shares of Carter’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Carter’s in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Carter’s from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Capital One Financial set a $40.00 price target on Carter’s in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Carter’s in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.88.

Carter’s Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:CRI opened at $30.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 5.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.84. Carter’s has a 52-week low of $27.15 and a 52-week high of $44.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The textile maker reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $615.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $605.68 million. Carter’s had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 6.55%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Carter’s will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in Carter’s by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 17,560 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of Carter’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,260,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Carter’s by 114.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 97,709 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,022,000 after buying an additional 52,193 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Carter’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Carter’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $399,000.

Carter’s Company Profile

Carter’s, Inc (NYSE:CRI) is a specialty retailer and branded marketer of apparel, accessories and related products for babies and young children. The company’s portfolio includes Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, Skip Hop and Little Planet, offering items such as bodysuits, sleepwear, playwear, footwear, outerwear, accessories, baby gear and nursery products.

Founded in 1865 by William Carter, the company has developed into a major children’s apparel business. Carter’s products are sold through company-operated retail stores, e-commerce websites and wholesale partners, including department stores, mass merchants, specialty retailers and other distribution channels.

The company primarily serves customers in the United States and Canada, while also reaching international markets through select wholesale, licensing and distribution arrangements.