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

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on CSV. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $51.00 target price (up previously from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Carriage Services Trading Up 0.3%

CSV traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.63. 103,473 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 115,167. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.39. The firm has a market cap of $653.30 million, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Carriage Services has a 1 year low of $25.84 and a 1 year high of $42.75.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $8.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.17 million. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. As a group, analysts expect that Carriage Services will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carriage Services news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.60, for a total value of $121,800.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 75,897 shares in the company, valued at $3,081,418.20. The trade was a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $362,141 in the last 90 days. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carriage Services

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSV. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Carriage Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $4,157,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Carriage Services by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 941,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,480,000 after buying an additional 24,138 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 9.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 648,417 shares of the company's stock worth $25,126,000 after purchasing an additional 57,500 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 7.2% during the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 37,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in Carriage Services in the first quarter worth about $93,000. 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.