Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Shares Down 5.7% – Time to Sell?

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)’s stock price was down 5.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $28.78 and last traded at $28.80. Approximately 390,395 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,455,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Carter’s from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Carter’s from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Carter’s from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Carter’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $29.50.

Carter’s Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.26.

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

Carter’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carter’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carter’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $718,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Carter’s during the first quarter valued at about $1,526,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Carter’s by 473.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 132,134 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,404,000 after purchasing an additional 109,106 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Carter’s in the 1st quarter valued at $1,199,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carter’s in the first quarter worth $780,000.

Carter’s Company Profile

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.