Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Upgraded at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) to a moderate buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on CSV. Zacks Research upgraded Carriage Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Carriage Services Trading Up 5.8%

NYSE CSV opened at $46.93 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. Carriage Services has a twelve month low of $30.15 and a twelve month high of $49.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $736.83 million, a PE ratio of 14.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $44.79 and its 200 day moving average is $43.09.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 21.63% and a net margin of 12.85%.The business had revenue of $102.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.36 million. Research analysts forecast that Carriage Services will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a $0.1125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carriage Services

In other news, VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total value of $577,877.72. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 14,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,294.80. This trade represents a 46.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carriage Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 1,736.0% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Carriage Services by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 408.7% during the 2nd quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Carriage Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Hedge funds and other 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.