Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) Short Interest Update

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 172,500 shares, an increase of 21.0% from the December 15th total of 142,600 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 88,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

Shares of CSV stock opened at $40.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $611.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93. Carriage Services has a 1-year low of $22.84 and a 1-year high of $42.13. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.53.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last released its 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 analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Carriage Services will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 34,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,791.48. This trade represents a 12.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 11.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carriage Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Carriage Services during the fourth quarter valued at $821,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 118,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,903,000 after buying an additional 57,821 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Carriage Services in the third quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Carriage Services by 228.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 14,215 shares in the last quarter. 66.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Carriage Services from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th.

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.