Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

CARE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Carter Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Hovde Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $34.50 price objective (up from $30.00) on shares of Carter Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Carter Bankshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Carter Bankshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.75.

Carter Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CARE opened at $31.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $704.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.28. Carter Bankshares has a 52 week low of $16.78 and a 52 week high of $36.06.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $32.73 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.90 million. Carter Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 36.79%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Carter Bankshares will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Carter Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 24th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Carter Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.88%.

Insider Transactions at Carter Bankshares

In related news, insider Bradford N. Langs sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.54, for a total transaction of $86,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 33,242 shares in the company, valued at $1,148,178.68. The trade was a 6.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert M. Bolton sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total value of $51,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 55,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,903,000. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carter Bankshares

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CARE. Huber Capital Management LLC raised its position in Carter Bankshares by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 191,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Carter Bankshares by 98.3% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Carter Bankshares by 6.7% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 140.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.48% of the company’s stock.

About Carter Bankshares

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.