Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Carter Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $27.32 and last traded at $27.3040, with a volume of 31906 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CARE. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Carter Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Carter Bankshares in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Carter Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Carter Bankshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price objective on shares of Carter Bankshares from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

Carter Bankshares Stock Up 1.5%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.22. The company has a market capitalization of $608.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.51.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $106.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.47 million. Carter Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 33.60%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Carter Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Carter Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Carter Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elizabeth L. Walsh acquired 4,575 shares of Carter Bankshares stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.20 per share, for a total transaction of $119,865.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 58,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,539,328.60. The trade was a 8.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford N. Langs sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.47, for a total transaction of $145,585.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,151.71. This represents a 16.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carter Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Carter Bankshares by 82.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 57,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,339,000 after buying an additional 25,967 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Carter Bankshares by 10.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,110,000 after buying an additional 8,192 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Carter Bankshares by 60.9% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 35,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 13,439 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Carter Bankshares by 108.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,874,000 after buying an additional 41,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Carter Bankshares by 397.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. 41.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.