Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Carter Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $25.01 and last traded at $25.2050, with a volume of 2085 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Carter Bankshares from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Carter Bankshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carter Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Carter Bankshares in a report on Monday. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their target price on shares of Carter Bankshares from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Carter Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $27.50.

Carter Bankshares Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $22.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $558.43 million, a P/E ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.44.

Carter Bankshares (NASDAQ:CARE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.09). Carter Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.93% and a net margin of 33.60%.The firm had revenue of $106.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.47 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Carter Bankshares, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Carter Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 25th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 11th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Carter Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 8.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carter Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CARE. Fourthstone LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,236,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,307,000 after purchasing an additional 197,850 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Carter Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth about $1,770,000. Curi Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 388.0% during the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 93,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,618,000 after purchasing an additional 74,178 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp boosted its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 106.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 142,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,469,000 after purchasing an additional 73,275 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Carter Bankshares by 457.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 82,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 67,630 shares during the period. 41.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.