Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on CRI. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Carter’s from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays raised their price target on Carter’s from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Zacks Research raised Carter’s from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Carter’s in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “sell” rating and a $26.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Carter’s from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $28.80.

Carter’s Price Performance

Carter’s stock opened at $35.64 on Friday. Carter’s has a 12-month low of $23.38 and a 12-month high of $55.71. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $32.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The textile maker reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.04). Carter’s had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The firm had revenue of $757.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $760.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Carter’s will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Carter’s

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

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.