Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Stock Rating Upgraded by Raymond James Financial

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) was upgraded by analysts at Raymond James Financial to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Carriage Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Carriage Services currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

NYSE CSV opened at $46.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $736.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.09. Carriage Services has a 1 year low of $30.15 and a 1 year high of $49.41.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. Carriage Services had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 21.63%. The firm had revenue of $102.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.36 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Carriage Services will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total transaction of $577,877.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 14,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,294.80. This trade represents a 46.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carriage Services

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Carriage Services by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 941,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,480,000 after buying an additional 24,138 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Carriage Services by 9.7% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 648,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,126,000 after buying an additional 57,500 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Carriage Services by 12.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 477,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,829,000 after buying an additional 52,889 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Carriage Services by 5.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 350,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,016,000 after buying an additional 17,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP raised its stake in Carriage Services by 13.9% during the second quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 209,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,600,000 after buying an additional 25,676 shares during 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.