Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $32.35, but opened at $29.60. Carter’s shares last traded at $33.81, with a volume of 1,082,002 shares traded.

The textile maker reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.04). Carter’s had a net margin of 4.79% and a return on equity of 20.68%. The company had revenue of $757.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis.

Carter’s Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio is 26.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CRI. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Carter’s from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Carter’s from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Carter’s from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Carter’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Institutional Trading of Carter’s

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Carter’s by 38.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Carter’s in the first quarter valued at about $278,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Carter’s by 8.9% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 126,606 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,178,000 after purchasing an additional 10,328 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Carter’s in the first quarter valued at about $733,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Carter’s by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 29,790 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after acquiring an additional 3,243 shares during the period.

Carter’s Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.74 and a beta of 1.07.

Carter’s Company Profile

Carter’s, Inc engages in the business of brand marketing of young children’s apparel. It operates through the following segments: the United States (US) Retail, US Wholesale, and International. The US Retail segment includes selling products through retail stores and ecommerce websites. The US Wholesale segment focuses on wholesale partners.