Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Share Price Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average of $26.90

Shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $26.90 and traded as high as $27.71. Carriage Services shares last traded at $27.18, with a volume of 60,205 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 price target on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th.

Carriage Services Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $412.05 million, a PE ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $26.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.67.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.16. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 22.04% and a net margin of 8.08%. The firm had revenue of $103.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 6th were paid a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 3rd. Carriage Services’s payout ratio is 22.17%.

Insider Transactions at Carriage Services

In related news, VP Shawn R. Phillips sold 10,593 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.57, for a total transaction of $270,863.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 113,348 shares in the company, valued at $2,898,308.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Shane Pudenz sold 1,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $39,393.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,458. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Shawn R. Phillips sold 10,593 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.57, for a total value of $270,863.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 113,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,898,308.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,318 shares of company stock valued at $406,452 in the last three months. 11.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carriage Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Harbert Fund Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Carriage Services by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbert Fund Advisors Inc. now owns 208,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Carriage Services by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 319,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,979,000 after purchasing an additional 47,646 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Carriage Services during the third quarter worth approximately $210,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Carriage Services by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 854,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,135,000 after buying an additional 16,448 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Carriage Services by 1.7% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 147,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,177,000 after buying an additional 2,415 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.46% of the company’s stock.

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.