Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Reaches New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $46.20 and last traded at $46.16, with a volume of 30096 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CSV. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Carriage Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, May 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm restated a "buy" rating and set a $51.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Carriage Services Stock Up 1.0%

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $721.58 million, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.88.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.16. Carriage Services had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 21.96%. The business had revenue of $8.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.17 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were paid a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. Carriage Services's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.05%.

Insider Transactions at Carriage Services

In other Carriage Services news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 2,492 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total value of $99,704.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 78,897 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,668.97. This represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $362,141 in the last ninety days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the first quarter valued at about $4,157,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth $3,546,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,566,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Carriage Services by 120.2% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 135,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 74,193 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Carriage Services by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 590,917 shares of the company's stock worth $23,548,000 after purchasing an additional 65,358 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.46% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.