Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $42.00 to $30.00. The stock had previously closed at $32.36, but opened at $30.90. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Carter’s shares last traded at $31.44, with a volume of 158,026 shares.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CRI. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Carter’s from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Carter’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Carter’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Carter’s in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Carter’s in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.38.

Institutional Trading of Carter’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRI. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Carter’s by 3,889.3% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of Carter’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Carter’s in the 1st quarter valued at $119,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,711 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new stake in Carter’s in the 1st quarter valued at $212,000.

Carter’s Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.73 and its 200 day moving average is $36.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a PE ratio of 6.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.47.

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

Carter’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio is 18.73%.

Carter’s Company Profile

Carter’s, Inc (NYSE:CRI) is a designer, marketer and retailer of apparel and related products for babies and young children. The company’s offerings include bodysuits, sleepwear, playwear, outerwear, footwear, accessories, gifts, bedding and other products for infants, toddlers and young children.

Carter’s markets products primarily under the Carter’s and OshKosh B’gosh brands, as well as Skip Hop, which offers baby and children’s gear, accessories and related products. The company sells through its own retail stores and websites, wholesale partners, department stores, mass merchants and other retailers.

The company traces its history to 1865, when it was established as the William Carter Company.