Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Trading 5.8% Higher – Here’s Why

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) shares traded up 5.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $42.92 and last traded at $43.10. 282,650 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,062,193 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Carter’s from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Carter’s from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Carter’s from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carter’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.00.

Carter’s Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $50.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The textile maker reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.52. Carter’s had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 27.15%. The business had revenue of $859.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $835.82 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.76 earnings per share. Carter’s’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Carter’s, Inc. will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Carter’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carter’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRI. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carter’s by 155.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,851,079 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $154,500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732,857 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carter’s by 124.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,739,522 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $93,134,000 after purchasing an additional 964,494 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carter’s by 108.0% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,126,468 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $61,043,000 after purchasing an additional 584,850 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Carter’s by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,919,953 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $104,042,000 after purchasing an additional 479,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carter’s by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,895,549 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $211,100,000 after purchasing an additional 366,293 shares in the last quarter.

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.