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

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,811 shares of the textile maker’s stock, valued at approximately $152,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Carter’s by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,245,943 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $67,518,000 after purchasing an additional 74,133 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Carter’s in the third quarter worth about $683,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carter’s by 109.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 174,814 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,473,000 after buying an additional 91,162 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Carter’s by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 152,560 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,913,000 after buying an additional 67,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in shares of Carter’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $635,000.

Carter’s Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE CRI opened at $40.91 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $49.15 and its 200 day moving average is $55.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Carter’s, Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.84 and a 12 month high of $86.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 6.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Carter’s (NYSE:CRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The textile maker reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $835.82 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Carter’s, Inc. will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carter’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.82%. Carter’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CRI shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Carter’s from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Carter’s from $57.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Carter’s from $65.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

About Carter’s

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.