Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI) Short Interest Up 15.0% in January

Carter's, Inc. (NYSE:CRI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,670,000 shares, an increase of 15.0% from the December 31st total of 4,060,000 shares. Currently, 13.4% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Carter's from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Carter's from $72.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $67.67.

Carter's Trading Down 1.8 %

CRI stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $51.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 662,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,578. Carter's has a 1 year low of $50.25 and a 1 year high of $88.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.14, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 2.21.

Carter's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.80 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.24%. Carter's's payout ratio is 50.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carter's

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRI. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carter's during the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Creative Planning purchased a new position in Carter's during the 2nd quarter worth $294,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Carter's during the 2nd quarter valued at $231,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Carter's by 91.2% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 11,530 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Carter's by 112.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 405 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter.

About Carter's

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.