Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

CRI has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Carter’s from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Carter’s from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Carter’s from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Carter’s from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Carter’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $28.80.

Carter’s Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:CRI opened at $32.10 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 1.08. Carter’s has a 12 month low of $23.38 and a 12 month high of $56.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The textile maker reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.04). Carter’s had a return on equity of 16.71% and a net margin of 3.15%.The company had revenue of $757.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $760.11 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. Carter’s’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Carter’s will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carter’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carter’s

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRI. RWWM Inc. raised its stake in Carter’s by 86.1% during the second quarter. RWWM Inc. now owns 4,075,791 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $122,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885,309 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Carter’s by 14,270.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,631,493 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $66,728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,620,140 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Carter’s by 113.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,564,457 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $77,267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,698 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 43.7% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,201,996 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,920,000 after purchasing an additional 365,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Carter’s by 1,679.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 370,791 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,172,000 after purchasing an additional 349,957 shares during the period.

About Carter’s

Carter’s, Inc engages in the business of brand marketing of young children’s apparel. It operates through the following segments: the United States (US) Retail, US Wholesale, and International. The US Retail segment includes selling products through retail stores and ecommerce websites. The US Wholesale segment focuses on wholesale partners.