Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.36 and last traded at $44.70, with a volume of 2136 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on CSV. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Carriage Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 11th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Carriage Services Stock Down 0.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $705.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s 50-day moving average is $40.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.17 million. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 23.52%. Equities analysts anticipate that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Carriage Services’s payout ratio is currently 15.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carriage Services

In related news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 2,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total value of $99,704.92. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 78,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,156,668.97. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $362,141. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth $4,157,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth $3,546,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Carriage Services during the 4th quarter worth $3,566,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Carriage Services by 120.2% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 135,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 74,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in Carriage Services by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 590,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,548,000 after purchasing an additional 65,358 shares during the last quarter. 66.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.