Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) Shares Gap Down to $71.56

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $71.56, but opened at $69.00. Carter’s shares last traded at $71.54, with a volume of 325,878 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Carter’s from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Carter’s from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Carter’s from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Carter’s from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.80.

Carter’s Trading Down 2.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 2.15.

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

Carter’s Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $153,262.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,055.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Carter’s during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Carter’s during the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Carter’s during the first quarter valued at $208,000.

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.