Short Interest in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) Rises By 21.0%

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 172,500 shares, a growth of 21.0% from the December 15th total of 142,600 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 88,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Carriage Services Stock Up 0.9 %

CSV stock opened at $40.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.53. Carriage Services has a 12 month low of $22.84 and a 12 month high of $42.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $611.49 million, a P/E ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.1125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 34,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,290,791.48. This represents a 12.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 11.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carriage Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the third quarter worth about $4,310,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Carriage Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,151,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Carriage Services by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 118,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,903,000 after acquiring an additional 57,821 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Carriage Services during the third quarter valued at $1,784,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 8.2% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 616,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,547,000 after purchasing an additional 46,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.