Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest fell 18.9% in April to 2,648,948 shares (about 7.4% of shares), leaving a short-interest ratio of 2.6 days based on average daily volume.
• Quarterly results beat expectations—$1.90 EPS vs. $1.70 expected and $925.45M revenue (up 7.7% YoY); the company set Q1 2026 guidance of $0.02–$0.08 EPS and analysts forecast roughly $2.99 EPS for the year.
• Analyst views are mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $38.67, although Citigroup upgraded the stock to a "Buy" and raised its target to $50.

Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,648,948 shares, a decline of 18.9% from the March 31st total of 3,264,675 shares. Currently, 7.4% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,036,237 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Carter's Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:CRI traded down $0.29 on Thursday, reaching $36.17. 934,547 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,046,637. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $36.36 and a 200-day moving average of $34.47. Carter's has a 52-week low of $23.38 and a 52-week high of $44.44.

Carter's (NYSE:CRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The textile maker reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $925.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $912.36 million. Carter's had a net margin of 3.17% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Carter's has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.020-0.080 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Carter's will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Carter's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Carter's's payout ratio is 39.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on CRI shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Carter's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Carter's in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Carter's from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Carter's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $34.00 to $50.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Carter's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.67.

Institutional Trading of Carter's

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRI. RWWM Inc. increased its holdings in Carter's by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. RWWM Inc. now owns 5,900,170 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $166,503,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,379 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carter's by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,226,804 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $119,280,000 after buying an additional 46,560 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carter's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,207,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Carter's by 43.7% during the third quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,201,996 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $33,920,000 after buying an additional 365,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of Carter's by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 125,115 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $4,057,000 after buying an additional 33,845 shares in the last quarter.

Carter's Company Profile

Carter's, Inc NYSE: CRI is a leading designer and marketer of infant and young children's apparel in North America. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company's core business focuses on creating clothing and accessories for babies and children, including bodysuits, sleepwear, layette, outerwear and accessories that blend comfort, safety and style. Carter's flagship brand is complemented by its OshKosh B'gosh line, which offers heritage-inspired designs and durable fabrics for toddlers and young kids.

The company distributes its products through a diversified platform that includes wholesale partnerships with major department stores and mass merchandisers, direct‐to‐consumer e-commerce sites, and an extensive network of company-operated retail stores.

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