Barrington Research Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV)

Barrington Research reissued their outperform rating on shares of Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $38.00 target price 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 Up 3.9 %

Shares of NYSE CSV opened at $24.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.32. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $377.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $98.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.27 million. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 21.39%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Carriage Services will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.1125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Carriage Services’s payout ratio is 20.93%.

Insider Activity at Carriage Services

In related news, Director Melvin C. Payne sold 3,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $90,143.92. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Melvin C. Payne sold 3,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $90,143.92. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven D. Metzger sold 1,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $35,505.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,975 shares in the company, valued at $1,099,300.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,372 shares of company stock worth $369,521. Insiders own 11.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carriage Services

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSV. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 14.8% during the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 149,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,234,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 89.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Skylands Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Carriage Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $613,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 109.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 72,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,051,000 after purchasing an additional 37,972 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.