Wall Street Zen Downgrades Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) to Hold

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Freedom Capital downgraded Carter Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Carter Bankshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Carter Bankshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Hovde Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $34.50 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Carter Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carter Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.75.

Carter Bankshares Stock Performance

Carter Bankshares stock opened at $33.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.20. Carter Bankshares has a 1 year low of $16.78 and a 1 year high of $36.06. The company has a market capitalization of $733.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.52.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.91). Carter Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 36.79%.The company had revenue of $32.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.90 million. Equities analysts expect that Carter Bankshares will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Carter Bankshares

In related news, Director Robert M. Bolton sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.60, for a total value of $51,900.00. Following the sale, the director owned 55,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,903,000. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford N. Langs sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.54, for a total transaction of $86,350.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 33,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,148,178.68. This trade represents a 6.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,500 shares of company stock worth $283,835. 2.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carter Bankshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CARE. Richard Young Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Carter Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at about $525,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Carter Bankshares by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,175,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,422,000 after acquiring an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 395,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,781,000 after purchasing an additional 26,800 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 98.3% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carter Bankshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.48% of the company’s stock.

Carter Bankshares Company Profile

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.