Trexquant Investment LP Invests $321,000 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 disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $321,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.05% of Carriage Services as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in Carriage Services during the 1st quarter worth about $93,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Carriage Services by 8,246.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 3,216 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 4.1% during the first quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,456 shares of the company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Carriage Services during the fourth quarter worth approximately $282,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carriage Services news, VP Shane Pudenz sold 13,027 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Carriage Services Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CSV traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $42.80. The company had a trading volume of 77,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 92,848. The company's 50 day moving average price is $45.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.54. The stock has a market cap of $672.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.86. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $30.15 and a 52 week high of $49.41. 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 (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. Carriage Services had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 21.63%. The company had revenue of $102.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.36 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

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

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.