Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Receives Outperform Rating from Barrington Research

Key Points

• Barrington Research has reiterated its "outperform" rating on Carriage Services (CSV) with a price target of $60.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.93% from the current stock price.
• Despite a recent downturn of 1.5%, Carriage Services reported strong quarterly earnings, with $0.74 earnings per share exceeding expectations.
• Several analysts have varying ratings for Carriage Services, with one giving it a strong-buy rating and an average target price of $58.67 across five analysts.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by analysts at Barrington Research in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 target price on the stock. Barrington Research's price target would indicate a potential upside of 40.30% from the company's previous close.

CSV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Carriage Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Carriage Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $58.67.

Carriage Services Trading Up 0.2%

CSV traded up $0.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.77. The company had a trading volume of 25,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,149. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $45.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.57. The company has a market cap of $671.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.86. Carriage Services has a 12-month low of $30.15 and a 12-month high of $49.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $102.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.36 million. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 21.63% and a net margin of 12.85%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Carriage Services will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total transaction of $577,877.72. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 14,930 shares in the company, valued at $662,294.80. The trade was a 46.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 1,736.0% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 918 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in Carriage Services in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Carriage Services by 22.1% in 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 during the period. Simplex Trading LLC increased its position in Carriage Services by 408.7% in the 2nd quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 1,226 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Carriage Services in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. 66.46% of the stock is owned by 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.