Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 481,009 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 505% from the previous session’s volume of 79,508 shares.The stock last traded at $41.02 and had previously closed at $40.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barrington Research increased their price target on Carriage Services from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Carriage Services Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.03 and its 200-day moving average is $35.33. The stock has a market cap of $622.50 million, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.93.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.19. Carriage Services had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 23.52%. The business had revenue of $100.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a $0.1125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.18%.

Insider Transactions at Carriage Services

In other Carriage Services news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total transaction of $188,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 34,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,290,791.48. The trade was a 12.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carriage Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CSV. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Carriage Services by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 314,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 13,126 shares during the period. Penn Mutual Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the 3rd quarter worth $433,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the third quarter valued at about $1,784,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carriage Services during the third quarter worth about $2,151,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Carriage Services by 228.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 14,215 shares during the period. 66.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.