Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning.

Separately, Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday.

Carriage Services Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Carriage Services stock opened at $39.72 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $604.66 million, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.92. 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 has a 12-month low of $23.20 and a 12-month high of $42.75. The business’s 50 day moving average is $40.32 and its 200-day moving average is $37.04.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.11. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 23.52%. The firm had revenue of $97.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Carriage Services will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.1125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.43%.

Institutional Trading of Carriage Services

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Carriage Services by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Carriage Services by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 17,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 46.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 852 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Carriage Services by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.