Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

CRI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Carter’s from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Carter’s from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Carter’s from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Carter’s from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Carter’s in a report on Friday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $32.60.

Carter’s Stock Up 8.6%

CRI opened at $38.20 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.51. Carter’s has a 52 week low of $23.38 and a 52 week high of $55.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 1.07.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The textile maker reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $757.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $760.11 million. Carter’s had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Carter’s will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carter’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RWWM Inc. raised its holdings in Carter’s by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. RWWM Inc. now owns 5,900,170 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $166,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,379 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Carter’s by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,226,804 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $119,280,000 after buying an additional 46,560 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Carter’s by 113.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,564,457 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $77,267,000 after buying an additional 1,364,698 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Carter’s by 6.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,349,872 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $38,093,000 after buying an additional 87,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Carter’s by 43.7% in the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,201,996 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $33,920,000 after buying an additional 365,501 shares during the period.

Carter’s Company Profile

Carter’s, Inc (NYSE: CRI) is a leading designer and marketer of infant and young children’s apparel in North America. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company’s core business focuses on creating clothing and accessories for babies and children, including bodysuits, sleepwear, layette, outerwear and accessories that blend comfort, safety and style. Carter’s flagship brand is complemented by its OshKosh B’gosh line, which offers heritage-inspired designs and durable fabrics for toddlers and young kids.

The company distributes its products through a diversified platform that includes wholesale partnerships with major department stores and mass merchandisers, direct‐to‐consumer e-commerce sites, and an extensive network of company-operated retail stores.