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 reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Barrington Research in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $60.00 price objective on the stock. Barrington Research's target price would suggest a potential upside of 40.18% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Carriage Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. B. Riley reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Carriage Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $58.67.

Carriage Services Stock Performance

Carriage Services stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 77,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,848. Carriage Services has a 12-month low of $30.15 and a 12-month high of $49.41. The company has a market capitalization of $672.01 million, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $45.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.54.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.02. Carriage Services had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 21.63%. The business had revenue of $102.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.36 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Carriage Services will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $662,294.80. The trade was a 46.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Carriage Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CSV. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth $4,157,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth $3,546,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the 4th quarter worth $3,566,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 120.2% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 135,893 shares of the company's stock worth $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 74,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its stake in Carriage Services by 48.4% in the first quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 184,101 shares of the company's stock worth $7,148,000 after purchasing an additional 60,030 shares during the last quarter. 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.