Carriage Services, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.11 (NYSE:CSV)

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.1125 per share on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 3rd.

Carriage Services has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.1% per year over the last three years. Carriage Services has a payout ratio of 17.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Carriage Services to earn $2.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.45 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.9%.

Carriage Services Price Performance

NYSE CSV traded up $0.43 on Friday, hitting $24.01. 89,946 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 91,059. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.32. The company has a market cap of $363.44 million, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. Carriage Services has a 1-year low of $18.06 and a 1-year high of $35.59.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.28. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.73% and a return on equity of 21.39%. The business had revenue of $98.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.27 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Carriage Services will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CSV. Barrington Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Carriage Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.87, for a total transaction of $168,155.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 38,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $987,664.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.87, for a total transaction of $168,155.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 38,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $987,664.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Charles Fargason purchased 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.58 per share, with a total value of $153,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,640 shares in the company, valued at $374,491.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,372 shares of company stock valued at $369,521. 12.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carriage Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 35.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 19,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Carriage Services by 98.5% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Carriage Services by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 43,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Carriage Services by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.