AlphaQuest LLC Sells 2,348 Shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,348 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned about 0.05% of Carriage Services worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in Carriage Services by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in shares of Carriage Services by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 34,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Carriage Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,159,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Carriage Services by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Carriage Services by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 12,180 shares during the last quarter. 66.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSV has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

Carriage Services stock opened at $37.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $588.75 million, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.91. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.20 and a 1-year high of $42.75. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.06 and its 200 day moving average is $37.34.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.11. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $97.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.43%.

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.