Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) Raised to Strong-Buy at Freedom Capital

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) was upgraded by stock analysts at Freedom Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

CARE has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Carter Bankshares in a report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Carter Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $22.00 target price on shares of Carter Bankshares and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Carter Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Carter Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ CARE opened at $19.87 on Thursday. Carter Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $13.60 and a fifty-two week high of $20.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.44. The firm has a market cap of $438.93 million, a P/E ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $39.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.20 million. Carter Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 12.37%. On average, analysts anticipate that Carter Bankshares will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carter Bankshares news, Director Robert M. Bolton sold 1,901 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $32,754.23. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $186,549.21. This represents a 14.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Carter Bankshares by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,292,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,907,000 after buying an additional 15,221 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Carter Bankshares by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 24,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Carter Bankshares by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 25,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 11,794 shares in the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Carter Bankshares by 35.4% during the first quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 19,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 7.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 90,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after purchasing an additional 6,157 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.48% of the company’s stock.

About Carter Bankshares

Carter Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Suffolk, Virginia, operating primarily through its subsidiary, Carter Bank & Trust. The company offers a full range of commercial and retail banking services, serving individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Its financial products are designed to meet the needs of local customers across southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

Carter Bank & Trust provides deposit accounts, including checking, savings and money market products, as well as certificates of deposit.