Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CSV. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price (up from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Thursday, May 1st.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

NYSE:CSV opened at $41.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. Carriage Services has a 52-week low of $25.84 and a 52-week high of $42.75. The firm has a market cap of $653.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $38.80 and its 200 day moving average is $39.39.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.17 million. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. Research analysts predict that Carriage Services will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 3,508 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.09, for a total value of $140,635.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 81,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,262,885.01. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,000 shares of company stock worth $362,141. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Carriage Services by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Carriage Services by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 17,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.