Carter's, Inc. $CRI Shares Sold by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Carter's, Inc. by 22.9%, now holding 133,430 shares valued at approximately $5.46 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Carter's stock, with UBS Group lowering its target price from $32 to $26, while Wells Fargo raised theirs from $25 to $28; the consensus target price is currently $30.25.
• Carter's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, reflecting an annualized rate of $1.00, with a yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of 26.53%.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Free Report) by 22.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,430 shares of the textile maker's stock after selling 39,530 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 0.37% of Carter's worth $5,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Carter's by 38.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Carter's during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,526,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Carter's during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $780,000. Capital Fund Management S.A. grew its stake in Carter's by 473.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 132,134 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $5,404,000 after purchasing an additional 109,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Carter's by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 29,790 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 3,243 shares in the last quarter.

Carter's Stock Performance

Carter's stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.62. 1,307,311 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,335,518. Carter's, Inc. has a one year low of $23.38 and a one year 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $28.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.39. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Carter's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. Carter's's payout ratio is currently 26.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRI. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Carter's from $32.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research lowered Carter's from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on Carter's from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Carter's from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Carter's currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Sell" and an average 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.