Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Shares Gap Down to $71.56

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $71.56, but opened at $69.00. Carter’s shares last traded at $71.54, with a volume of 325,878 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CRI. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Carter’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Carter’s from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut Carter’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Carter’s from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Carter’s from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Carter’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.80.

Carter’s Stock Down 2.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.74. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The textile maker reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $858.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $867.81 million. Carter’s had a return on equity of 28.79% and a net margin of 7.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Carter’s, Inc. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Carter’s Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is a positive change from Carter’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Carter’s’s payout ratio is 51.04%.

Insider Activity at Carter’s

In other Carter’s news, Director Mark Hipp sold 1,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.74, for a total transaction of $153,262.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,055.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carter’s

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRI. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 630 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 2.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 9,029 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 9,814 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Carter’s by 4.8% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Carter’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 52,858 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,655,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period.

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.