Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $42.00 to $30.00. The stock had previously closed at $32.36, but opened at $30.90. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Carter’s shares last traded at $31.44, with a volume of 158,026 shares traded.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on CRI. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Carter’s in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Carter’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Carter’s in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Carter’s from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Carter’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Carter’s during the second quarter worth $28,348,000. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Carter’s by 121.5% during the first quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 1,018,853 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,434,000 after purchasing an additional 558,853 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Carter’s by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,765,205 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $63,121,000 after buying an additional 472,786 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carter’s during the 1st quarter worth about $4,896,000. Finally, Aristides Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carter’s by 123.3% during the 1st quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 163,949 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,863,000 after buying an additional 90,533 shares during the last quarter.

Carter’s Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.96, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The textile maker reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Carter’s’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carter’s, Inc. will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carter’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.73%.

About Carter’s

Carter’s, Inc (NYSE:CRI) is a designer, marketer and retailer of apparel and related products for babies and young children. The company’s offerings include bodysuits, sleepwear, playwear, outerwear, footwear, accessories, gifts, bedding and other products for infants, toddlers and young children.

Carter’s markets products primarily under the Carter’s and OshKosh B’gosh brands, as well as Skip Hop, which offers baby and children’s gear, accessories and related products. The company sells through its own retail stores and websites, wholesale partners, department stores, mass merchants and other retailers.

The company traces its history to 1865, when it was established as the William Carter Company.