Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $31.17, but opened at $32.99. Carriage Services shares last traded at $32.0910, with a volume of 66,868 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on CSV shares. Raymond James Financial set a $50.00 target price on Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Roth Capital set a $46.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Carriage Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Carriage Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Thursday, August 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.00.

Carriage Services Trading Up 3.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.82. The stock has a market cap of $512.68 million, a PE ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.78.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by ($0.04). Carriage Services had a return on equity of 19.23% and a net margin of 10.69%.The firm had revenue of $102.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $108.91 million. Carriage Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.350-3.550 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 3rd. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is 16.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Carriage Services in the second quarter worth $42,164,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Carriage Services by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 610,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,867,000 after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Carriage Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $12,505,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 6.9% in the first quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,043,000 after acquiring an additional 17,051 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP raised its position in Carriage Services by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 236,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,996,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. 66.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Carriage Services

Carriage Services, Inc is a Houston-based provider of funeral and cemetery services in the United States. The company operates funeral homes and cemeteries that serve families through the funeral, cremation and burial processes.

Its services include funeral and memorial ceremonies, cremation services, cemetery interment, burial and cremation merchandise, and related planning arrangements. Carriage Services also offers pre-need funeral and cemetery planning, allowing customers to arrange and fund services in advance.

Founded in 1991, the company has built its business through a combination of acquiring established funeral homes and cemeteries and supporting their local operations.