Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,310,000 shares, a growth of 17.4% from the February 29th total of 2,820,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 745,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.4 days. Currently, 9.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRI. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Carter’s from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Carter’s from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Carter’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Carter’s from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Carter’s from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.75.
Carter’s Stock Up 1.9 %
Shares of NYSE CRI traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.68. The stock had a trading volume of 716,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,291. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.01 and its 200-day moving average is $73.87. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.51, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.28. Carter’s has a 52 week low of $60.65 and a 52 week high of $88.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.
Carter’s (NYSE:CRI – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The textile maker reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $858.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $867.81 million. Carter’s had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 28.79%. The business’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Carter’s will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.
Carter’s Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. This is an increase from Carter’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.04%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Carter’s
In other Carter’s news, Director Mark Hipp sold 1,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total value of $153,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,216 shares in the company, valued at $835,055.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRI. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Carter’s by 0.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,454,471 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $317,777,000 after purchasing an additional 23,125 shares during the period. Shapiro Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Carter’s by 3.9% during the second quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 2,871,448 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $208,467,000 after acquiring an additional 108,412 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Carter’s by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,287,686 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $170,684,000 after acquiring an additional 88,720 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Carter’s by 5.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,713,889 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $118,515,000 after purchasing an additional 90,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Carter’s by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,319,050 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $98,414,000 after purchasing an additional 140,172 shares during the last quarter.
Carter’s Company Profile
Carter’s, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, sources, and markets branded childrenswear under the Carter’s, OshKosh, Skip Hop, Child of Mine, Just One You, Simple Joys, Little Planet, and other brands in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S.