Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Sunday.

CRI has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Carter’s from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Carter’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research cut shares of Carter’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Carter’s from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Carter’s from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $42.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Carter’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.17.

Carter’s Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Carter’s stock opened at $39.77 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Carter’s has a 12 month low of $23.93 and a 12 month high of $44.44.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The textile maker reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.20. Carter’s had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 6.55%.The firm had revenue of $615.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $605.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Carter’s will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Carter’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carter’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 50.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 40,649 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 13,594 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 5.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 120,964 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,947,000 after buying an additional 6,195 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 4.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,482 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Carter’s by 71.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,390 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 3,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Carter’s by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,731 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,741,000 after buying an additional 52,103 shares during the last quarter.

Carter’s Company Profile

Carter’s, Inc (NYSE: CRI) is a leading designer and marketer of infant and young children’s apparel in North America. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company’s core business focuses on creating clothing and accessories for babies and children, including bodysuits, sleepwear, layette, outerwear and accessories that blend comfort, safety and style. Carter’s flagship brand is complemented by its OshKosh B’gosh line, which offers heritage-inspired designs and durable fabrics for toddlers and young kids.

The company distributes its products through a diversified platform that includes wholesale partnerships with major department stores and mass merchandisers, direct‐to‐consumer e-commerce sites, and an extensive network of company-operated retail stores.