Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.80 and last traded at $40.66, with a volume of 42789 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CSV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barrington Research upped their price target on shares of Carriage Services from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.18. The firm has a market cap of $616.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $100.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.49 million. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 23.52%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Carriage Services’s payout ratio is 20.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carriage Services

In related news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 5,000 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total value of $188,900.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 34,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,791.48. This trade represents a 12.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 11.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carriage Services

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 46.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Carriage Services by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in Carriage Services by 550.0% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 3.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 38,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Carriage Services by 9.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 15,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares during the period. 66.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carriage Services Company Profile

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.