Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $38.00 target price on the stock.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Carriage Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 15th.

Carriage Services Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CSV opened at $24.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $363.44 million, a PE ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.84. Carriage Services has a 1 year low of $18.06 and a 1 year high of $35.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.28. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 21.39%. The firm had revenue of $98.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.27 million. Analysts expect that Carriage Services will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 3rd. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.93%.

Insider Activity at Carriage Services

In related news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.87, for a total value of $168,155.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 38,178 shares in the company, valued at $987,664.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Steven D. Metzger sold 1,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total value of $35,505.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,099,300.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.87, for a total transaction of $168,155.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 38,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,664.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,372 shares of company stock worth $369,521. Company insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSV. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its position in Carriage Services by 210.3% in the first quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 7,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Carriage Services by 51.9% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Carriage Services by 6.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 946,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,500,000 after purchasing an additional 60,532 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Carriage Services by 1.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 110,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the first quarter worth approximately $356,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.46% of the company’s stock.

About Carriage Services

Carriage Services, Inc provides funeral and cemetery services, and merchandise in the United States. It operates in two segments, Funeral Home Operations and Cemetery Operations. The Funeral Home Operations segment provides consultation services; funeral home facilities for visitation and memorial services; transportation services; removal and preparation of remains; sale of caskets and urns; cremation services; and related funeral merchandise.