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

Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) was the recipient 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 currently 5.0 days. Currently, 11.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Carter’s Stock Performance

Shares of CRI stock traded down $1.66 on Tuesday, hitting $68.78. The company had a trading volume of 236,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 788,420. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Carter’s has a twelve month low of $60.65 and a twelve month high of $88.03.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The textile maker reported $2.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.24. Carter’s had a return on equity of 28.55% and a net margin of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $858.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $867.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Carter’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Carter’s will post 6.3 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. This is a positive change from Carter’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Carter’s’s payout ratio is currently 50.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Hipp sold 1,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 10,216 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,055.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carter’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRI. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Carter’s by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 632,671 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $47,381,000 after purchasing an additional 235,431 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Carter’s by 103.2% in the fourth quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 63,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,718,000 after purchasing an additional 32,000 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Carter’s by 4.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 408,095 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $28,220,000 after purchasing an additional 18,901 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Carter’s by 254.3% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 77,033 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,327,000 after purchasing an additional 55,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Carter’s by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,977,000 after purchasing an additional 6,561 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush lifted 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on Carter’s from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut Carter’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut Carter’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.80.

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.