Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Strong Sell” from Analysts

Shares of Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Strong Sell” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.80.

A number of equities analysts have commented on CRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Carter’s in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Carter’s from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Carter’s from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Carter’s from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Carter’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carter’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Carter’s by 45.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,408 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of Carter’s by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 11,369 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 4,147 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Carter’s by 33.5% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 171,628 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 43,074 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Carter’s in the first quarter worth about $2,455,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Carter’s by 19.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,748 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 2,561 shares in the last quarter.

Carter’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CRI opened at $32.67 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.26 and its 200 day moving average is $29.99. Carter’s has a 52 week low of $23.38 and a 52 week high of $58.13.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The textile maker reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $757.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $760.11 million. Carter’s had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Carter’s will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Carter’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.49%.

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.