Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) Short Interest Up 19.2% in February

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 228,900 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the January 31st total of 192,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 112,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carriage Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Carriage Services in the 4th quarter worth $3,566,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the third quarter worth about $2,151,000. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Carriage Services by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 590,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,548,000 after purchasing an additional 65,358 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Carriage Services by 94.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 118,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,903,000 after purchasing an additional 57,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Carriage Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,272,000. Institutional investors own 66.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CSV. StockNews.com upgraded Carriage Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barrington Research reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Friday, February 28th.

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Carriage Services Price Performance

CSV traded up $0.49 during trading on Monday, reaching $39.08. The stock had a trading volume of 192,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,910. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.18 and a 200-day moving average of $37.30. Carriage Services has a one year low of $23.20 and a one year high of $42.75. The stock has a market cap of $611.60 million, a PE ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.91.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $97.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $96.72 million. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.1125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Carriage Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.43%.

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.