Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Carriage Services has been downgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analysts' outlook.
• Currently, five analysts rate the stock as a Buy, while one has given a Hold rating, with a consensus price target of $59.00.
• Recent insider trading shows VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares at an average price of $44.36, reducing their ownership by 46.60%.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on CSV. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Carriage Services in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Carriage Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $59.00.

Carriage Services Price Performance

Shares of CSV stock opened at $45.95 on Monday. Carriage Services has a fifty-two week low of $30.15 and a fifty-two week high of $49.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $721.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 0.96 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $44.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.31.

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

Insider Transactions at Carriage Services

In other news, VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,294.80. This represents a 46.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 941,412 shares of the company's stock worth $36,480,000 after acquiring an additional 24,138 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Carriage Services by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 648,417 shares of the company's stock worth $25,126,000 after buying an additional 57,500 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Carriage Services by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 477,238 shares of the company's stock worth $21,829,000 after buying an additional 52,889 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Carriage Services by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 350,092 shares of the company's stock worth $16,016,000 after buying an additional 17,931 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 209,777 shares of the company's stock worth $9,600,000 after acquiring an additional 25,676 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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