Royce & Associates LP Takes $588,000 Position in Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP has acquired a new stake in Carter's, Inc., purchasing 14,381 shares valued at approximately **$588,000**.
• Carter's, Inc. reported a quarterly EPS of **$0.17**, missing analysts' estimates of **$0.43**, despite a **3.7%** year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company recently increased its **dividend** to **$0.25** per share, indicating a positive management outlook with a dividend yield of **3.19%**.

Royce & Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,381 shares of the textile maker's stock, valued at approximately $588,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RWWM Inc. grew its position in Carter's by 145.3% in the 1st 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position 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% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,126,468 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $61,043,000 after acquiring an additional 584,850 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Carter's by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,919,953 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $104,042,000 after purchasing an additional 479,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Carter's by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,895,549 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $211,100,000 after purchasing an additional 366,293 shares during the period.

Carter's Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:CRI traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.62. 1,636,538 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,568,102. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.20. Carter's, Inc. has a 52-week low of $23.38 and a 52-week high of $71.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $30.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.57. The company has a market capitalization of $860.48 million, a PE ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.98.

Carter's (NYSE:CRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $585.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $563.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Carter's, Inc. will post 5.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carter's Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change from Carter's's previous dividend of $0.22. This represents a dividend yield of 319.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Carter's's payout ratio is 26.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Monday. Barclays cut their price objective on Carter's from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. 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 report on Wednesday, May 14th.

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.