Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Carter Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.13 and last traded at $25.8850, with a volume of 251782 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CARE. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on Carter Bankshares from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Carter Bankshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Carter Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Carter Bankshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Carter Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $27.50.

Carter Bankshares Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.35 and a 200 day moving average of $20.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $572.39 million, a P/E ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.51.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $106.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.47 million. Carter Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.93% and a net margin of 33.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Carter Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carter Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th.

Institutional Trading of Carter Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CARE. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Carter Bankshares by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 11,794 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Carter Bankshares by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 6,157 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Carter Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $585,000. Creative Planning bought a new stake in Carter Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $330,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Carter Bankshares by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 46,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares in the last quarter. 41.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Carter Bankshares Company Profile

Carter Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Suffolk, Virginia, operating primarily through its subsidiary, Carter Bank & Trust. The company offers a full range of commercial and retail banking services, serving individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Its financial products are designed to meet the needs of local customers across southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

Carter Bank & Trust provides deposit accounts, including checking, savings and money market products, as well as certificates of deposit.