Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. Makes New $3.55 Million Investment in Carriage Services, Inc. $CSV

Key Points

• Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased 91,500 shares of Carriage Services, Inc. for approximately $3.5 million, owning around 0.58% of the company as of the latest SEC filing.
• Carriage Services reported $0.74 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates and achieving a revenue of $102.15 million.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.1125 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 13.51%.

Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 91,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,546,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.58% of Carriage Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $621,000. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 57,500 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 115,100 shares of the company's stock worth $4,587,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased 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. 66.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carriage Services

In related news, VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares of the company's 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 14,930 shares in the company, valued at $662,294.80. This represents a 46.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Carriage Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CSV traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $42.78. 26,213 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 113,369. The company's 50 day moving average is $45.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $671.65 million, a PE ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.15 and a 52 week high of $49.41.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $102.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.36 million. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 21.63% and a net margin of 12.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. Carriage Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CSV shares. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Carriage Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. B. Riley restated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Carriage Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.67.

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.