American Century Companies Inc. Grows Holdings in Carter's, Inc. $CRI

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Carter's, Inc. by 10.9% during Q1, acquiring a total of 1,183,289 shares valued at approximately $48.4 million.
• Carter's recently reported $0.17 EPS for the latest quarter, missing estimates by $0.26, despite revenue growth of 3.7% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.9%, while also experiencing a significant downgrade in analyst ratings.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,183,289 shares of the textile maker's stock after acquiring an additional 116,113 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 3.25% of Carter's worth $48,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CRI. RWWM Inc. grew its stake in Carter's by 145.3% during the first quarter. RWWM Inc. now owns 2,190,482 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $89,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297,607 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carter's by 124.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,739,522 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $93,134,000 after buying an additional 964,494 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Carter's by 108.0% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,126,468 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $61,043,000 after buying an additional 584,850 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Carter's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,242,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Carter's by 829.9% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 260,048 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $14,092,000 after acquiring an additional 232,082 shares in the last quarter.

Carter's Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE CRI traded up $0.3950 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $26.6850. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,539,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,511,476. The company has a market capitalization of $972.13 million, a PE ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Carter's, Inc. has a 52 week low of $23.38 and a 52 week high of $71.99. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $28.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.06.

Carter's (NYSE:CRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The textile maker reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.26). Carter's had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 4.79%.The company had revenue of $585.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $563.24 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Carter's, Inc. will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carter's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Carter's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CRI shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Carter's from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Carter's from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Carter's from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Carter's from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and a consensus price target of $30.25.

Carter's Company 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.