Vestcor Inc Makes New Investment in Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)

Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,811 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $152,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CRI. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Carter’s by 155.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,851,079 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $154,500,000 after purchasing an additional 1,732,857 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 591,246 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $32,040,000 after acquiring an additional 170,528 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 70.4% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 300,661 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $19,537,000 after acquiring an additional 124,191 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 2,799.6% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 103,285 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 99,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carter’s by 109.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 174,814 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,473,000 after acquiring an additional 91,162 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Carter’s from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Carter’s from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Carter’s from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Carter’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

Carter’s Price Performance

NYSE CRI opened at $40.91 on Wednesday. Carter’s, Inc. has a one year low of $38.84 and a one year high of $86.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $49.15 and a 200 day moving average of $55.85. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.49, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.21.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The textile maker reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.52. Carter’s had a return on equity of 27.15% and a net margin of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $859.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $835.82 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.76 EPS. Carter’s’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Carter’s, Inc. will post 5.15 EPS for the current year.

Carter’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.82%. Carter’s’s payout ratio is 62.62%.

Carter’s Profile

Carter’s, Inc engages in the business of brand marketing of young children’s apparel. It operates through the following segments: the United States (US) Retail, US Wholesale, and International. The US Retail segment includes selling products through retail stores and ecommerce websites. The US Wholesale segment focuses on wholesale partners.