Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) PT Lowered to $68.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $68.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the textile maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on CRI. Wedbush upped their target price on Carter’s from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Carter’s from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Carter’s from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Carter’s from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carter’s presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $73.80.

Carter’s Stock Performance

Shares of CRI stock opened at $70.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.77. Carter’s has a one year low of $60.65 and a one year high of $88.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 2.09 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The textile maker reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.24. Carter’s had a return on equity of 28.79% and a net margin of 7.89%. The firm had revenue of $858.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $867.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Carter’s will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Carter’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. This is a positive change from Carter’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 8th. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Hipp sold 1,875 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 10,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,055.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carter’s

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRI. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Carter’s by 366.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 490 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Carter’s in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Carter’s by 28.6% during 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 period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Carter’s by 457.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 808 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Carter’s in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000.

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.