Carriage Services, Inc. (CSV) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.11 on June 3rd

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, April 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be given a dividend of 0.1125 per share on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd.

Carriage Services has raised its dividend by an average of 10.1% per year over the last three years. Carriage Services has a payout ratio of 17.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Carriage Services to earn $2.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.45 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.9%.

Carriage Services Price Performance

Carriage Services stock opened at $24.01 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $25.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.32. The stock has a market cap of $363.44 million, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.84. Carriage Services has a 12-month low of $18.06 and a 12-month high of $35.59.

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

Insider Transactions at Carriage Services

In related news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.87, for a total value of $168,155.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 38,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $987,664.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Carriage Services news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 6,500 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.87, for a total transaction of $168,155.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 38,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $987,664.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Charles Fargason acquired 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.58 per share, with a total value of $153,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $374,491.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,372 shares of company stock worth $369,521. Corporate insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 35.3% during the second quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Carriage Services by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Carriage Services by 98.5% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 43,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 8.6% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. 66.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on CSV. StockNews.com lowered shares of Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday.

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.