Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Price Target Cut to $68.00

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $75.00 to $68.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the textile maker’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Carter’s from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lowered Carter’s from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Wedbush raised their price target on Carter’s from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Carter’s from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Carter’s from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.80.

Carter’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRI opened at $70.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Carter’s has a 1-year low of $60.65 and a 1-year high of $88.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.73 and its 200 day moving average is $74.83.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The textile maker reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $858.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $867.81 million. Carter’s had a return on equity of 28.79% and a net margin of 7.89%. Carter’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carter’s will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carter’s Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Carter’s

In related news, Director Mark Hipp sold 1,875 shares of Carter’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 sale, the director now directly owns 10,216 shares in the company, valued at $835,055.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carter’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Carter’s by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 630 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Carter’s by 2.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 9,029 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $765,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its stake in Carter’s by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 9,814 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $735,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Carter’s by 4.8% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Carter’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 52,858 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $3,655,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the last quarter.

About Carter’s

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.