Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC Makes New $813,000 Investment in Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)

Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC purchased a new stake in Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $813,000. Carter’s makes up approximately 0.7% of Marathon Partners Equity Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CRI. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Carter’s by 36.9% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 994 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Carter’s by 114.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 506 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Carter’s by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 4,073 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,217 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Carter’s by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 26,147 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter.

Carter’s Trading Up 5.2%

CRI opened at $35.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $37.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.55. Carter’s, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.04 and a 1-year high of $72.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The textile maker reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $291.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $624.86 million. Carter’s had a return on equity of 27.15% and a net margin of 8.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Analysts predict that Carter’s, Inc. will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carter’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Carter’s’s payout ratio is presently 70.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Carter’s in a research report on Monday, April 28th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Carter’s from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Carter’s from $37.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Carter’s from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $40.00 to $25.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $36.20.

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.