Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $42.13 and last traded at $41.50, with a volume of 19970 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Barrington Research raised their target price on shares of Carriage Services from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $625.67 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $37.00 and its 200-day moving average is $32.63.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.19. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 23.52%. The company had revenue of $100.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Carriage Services’s payout ratio is presently 20.18%.

Insider Activity at Carriage Services

In other Carriage Services news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total value of $188,900.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 34,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,791.48. The trade was a 12.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 12.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carriage Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CSV. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 141,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 13,598 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in Carriage Services by 550.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Carriage Services by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 20,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Carriage Services by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 9,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 2,607 shares during the period. 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.