American Century Companies Inc. Increases 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. boosted its stake in Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Free Report) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,183,289 shares of the textile maker's stock after purchasing an additional 116,113 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.25% of Carter's worth $48,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CRI. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Carter's by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 5,139 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $278,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Carter's by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 17,718 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 2,451 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Carter's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,609,000. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Carter's by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 5,534 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Carter's by 187.0% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 55,400 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $3,002,000 after acquiring an additional 36,100 shares during the last quarter.

Carter's Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of CRI traded up $0.0850 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $26.3750. 212,846 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,531,576. Carter's, Inc. has a 12 month low of $23.38 and a 12 month high of $71.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company's fifty day moving average price is $28.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.23. The company has a market capitalization of $960.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 0.99.

Carter's (NYSE:CRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The textile maker reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $585.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.24 million. Carter's had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 4.79%.The firm's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Carter's, Inc. will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carter's Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Carter's's payout ratio is 26.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.