Zacks Research Has Bullish Forecast for Carter’s Q3 Earnings

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) – Research analysts at Zacks Research increased their Q3 2026 earnings estimates for Carter’s in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, August 21st. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the textile maker will post earnings of $0.85 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.77. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Carter’s’ current full-year earnings is $3.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Carter’s’ FY2026 earnings at $3.42 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $3.35 EPS.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The textile maker reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.20. Carter’s had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The company had revenue of $615.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CRI. Weiss Ratings raised Carter’s from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Carter’s in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised Carter’s from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Carter’s from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Carter’s from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Carter’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.17.

Carter’s Stock Down 4.0%

Carter’s stock opened at $34.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Carter’s has a twelve month low of $26.20 and a twelve month high of $44.44. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.93.

Institutional Trading of Carter’s

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 113.7% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Carter’s by 3,916.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,858,497 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $76,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,812,228 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Carter’s by 36.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,765,205 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $63,121,000 after purchasing an additional 472,786 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Carter’s by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,762,036 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $57,143,000 after purchasing an additional 239,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Carter’s by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,597,901 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $51,820,000 after purchasing an additional 82,498 shares in the last quarter.

Carter’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio is 18.73%.

About Carter’s

Carter’s, Inc (NYSE: CRI) is a leading designer and marketer of infant and young children’s apparel in North America. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company’s core business focuses on creating clothing and accessories for babies and children, including bodysuits, sleepwear, layette, outerwear and accessories that blend comfort, safety and style. Carter’s flagship brand is complemented by its OshKosh B’gosh line, which offers heritage-inspired designs and durable fabrics for toddlers and young kids.

The company distributes its products through a diversified platform that includes wholesale partnerships with major department stores and mass merchandisers, direct‐to‐consumer e-commerce sites, and an extensive network of company-operated retail stores.