Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.00.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CSV shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Carriage Services in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Carriage Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Thursday.

Carriage Services Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:CSV opened at $45.51 on Monday. Carriage Services has a 1-year low of $31.93 and a 1-year high of $49.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.97. 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 $714.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 3rd will be issued a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 3rd. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is 13.51%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new position in shares of Carriage Services during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 1,736.0% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Carriage Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Carriage Services by 22.1% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplex Trading LLC grew its stake in Carriage Services by 408.7% in the second quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. 66.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.