Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.80 and last traded at $40.66, with a volume of 42789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barrington Research upped their price target on Carriage Services from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Carriage Services Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $618.69 million, a PE ratio of 17.58, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.98.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $100.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.49 million. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.1125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Carriage Services’s payout ratio is 20.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carriage Services

In related news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total value of $188,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 34,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,791.48. The trade was a 12.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 11.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 201.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 229,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,166,000 after acquiring an additional 153,538 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Carriage Services by 8.2% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 616,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,547,000 after purchasing an additional 46,700 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C raised its holdings in Carriage Services by 198.0% in the second quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 53,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 35,605 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the third quarter valued at about $4,310,000. Finally, AXA S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $932,000. 66.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Carriage Services Company Profile

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.