Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Carter Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARE) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $35.14 and last traded at $34.9850, with a volume of 104293 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CARE. Raymond James Financial cut Carter Bankshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Hovde Group lowered Carter Bankshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Carter Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Carter Bankshares from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Freedom Capital lowered Carter Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carter Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Carter Bankshares Stock Up 2.7%

The company has a market cap of $773.26 million, a P/E ratio of 7.15 and a beta of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.44 and its 200 day moving average is $25.09.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.65). The company had revenue of $90.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.90 million. Carter Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.51% and a net margin of 33.60%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Carter Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Carter Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 24th. Investors of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th. Carter Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 8.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elizabeth L. Walsh acquired 4,575 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.20 per share, with a total value of $119,865.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 58,753 shares in the company, valued at $1,539,328.60. This trade represents a 8.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford N. Langs sold 5,500 shares of Carter Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.47, for a total value of $145,585.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,093 shares in the company, valued at $717,151.71. This trade represents a 16.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.38% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fourthstone LLC raised its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,236,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,307,000 after acquiring an additional 197,850 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Carter Bankshares by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,175,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,422,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 12.9% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 441,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,561,000 after buying an additional 50,519 shares during the period. Maltese Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carter Bankshares by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 395,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,781,000 after buying an additional 26,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Carter Bankshares by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 300,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,909,000 after buying an additional 29,924 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.48% of the company’s stock.

About Carter Bankshares

Carter Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Suffolk, Virginia, operating primarily through its subsidiary, Carter Bank & Trust. The company offers a full range of commercial and retail banking services, serving individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Its financial products are designed to meet the needs of local customers across southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

Carter Bank & Trust provides deposit accounts, including checking, savings and money market products, as well as certificates of deposit.