Carriage Services’ (CSV) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Barrington Research

Barrington Research reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $38.00 price target on the stock.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Carriage Services from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

Shares of Carriage Services stock opened at $24.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.38 and a 200-day moving average of $24.32. Carriage Services has a 1-year low of $18.06 and a 1-year high of $35.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company has a market cap of $363.44 million, a PE ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.84.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.28. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 21.39%. The company had revenue of $98.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.27 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Carriage Services will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carriage Services

In other Carriage Services news, Director Melvin C. Payne sold 3,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total value of $90,143.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,129,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,900,514.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Carriage Services news, EVP Steven D. Metzger sold 1,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total value of $35,505.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,099,300.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Melvin C. Payne sold 3,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $90,143.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,129,809 shares in the company, valued at $28,900,514.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,372 shares of company stock worth $369,521. 12.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carriage Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,333,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,674,000 after purchasing an additional 46,480 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Carriage Services by 6.2% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,012,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,547,000 after acquiring an additional 59,061 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Carriage Services by 6.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 946,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,500,000 after acquiring an additional 60,532 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Carriage Services by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 319,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,979,000 after acquiring an additional 47,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Carriage Services by 0.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 310,185 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,072,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628 shares in the last quarter. 66.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.