Trexquant Investment LP Purchases New Shares in Carriage Services, Inc. $CSV

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP has invested $321,000 in Carriage Services, acquiring approximately 8,293 shares, bringing its total ownership to around 0.05% of the company.
• Carriage Services recently reported earnings of $0.74 per share, surpassing estimates, and has a dividend yield of 1.1% with a relatively low payout ratio of 13.51%.
• Analysts have issued optimistic ratings, with Barrington Research increasing their target price to $60.00, while the average target price among analysts stands at $58.67.

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $321,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.05% of Carriage Services as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSV. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new position in Carriage Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. US Bancorp DE acquired a new position in Carriage Services during the first quarter valued at approximately $93,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Carriage Services by 8,246.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Carriage Services by 4.1% during the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Carriage Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.46% of the company's stock.

Carriage Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CSV traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $42.65. 76,775 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 89,980. The firm has a market cap of $669.61 million, a PE ratio of 12.81, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $45.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.59. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.15 and a 12 month high of $49.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.36, for a total value of $577,877.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 14,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $662,294.80. The trade was a 46.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CSV. Zacks Research raised Carriage Services to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Carriage Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Carriage Services presently has a consensus 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.