Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

Carriage Services Price Performance

Shares of Carriage Services stock opened at $25.81 on Wednesday. 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 $390.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.84. Carriage Services has a 1-year low of $18.06 and a 1-year high of $35.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.32.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts predict that Carriage Services will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.1125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Steven D. Metzger sold 1,388 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $35,505.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,099,300.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Steven D. Metzger sold 1,388 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $35,505.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,099,300.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Carlos R. Quezada sold 1,666 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.58, for a total transaction of $42,616.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 57,062 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,645.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,372 shares of company stock valued at $369,521 over the last three months. 11.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carriage Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSV. Parallel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Carriage Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings 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 worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the fourth quarter worth $154,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the third quarter worth $210,000. 66.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.