Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,020,000 shares, an increase of 9.2% from the March 31st total of 3,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 808,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Currently, 11.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Carter’s

In other Carter’s 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 directly owns 10,216 shares in the company, valued at $835,055.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carter’s

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carter’s during the 1st quarter worth $712,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Carter’s during the 1st quarter worth $278,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Carter’s during the 1st quarter worth $1,450,000. Vest Financial LLC bought a new stake in Carter’s during the 1st quarter worth $830,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Carter’s by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 138,588 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,736,000 after acquiring an additional 3,403 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CRI shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Carter’s from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Carter’s from $75.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Carter’s from $67.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Carter’s from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Carter’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.80.

Carter’s Price Performance

Carter’s stock opened at $68.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.43. Carter’s has a 52 week low of $60.65 and a 52 week high of $88.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.24 and a 200-day moving average of $74.95.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The textile maker reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.24. Carter’s had a return on equity of 28.55% and a net margin of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $858.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $867.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Carter’s’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Carter’s will post 6.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carter’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. This is a boost from Carter’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Carter’s’s payout ratio is 50.47%.

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.