Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) Sees Strong Trading Volume - Here's What Happened

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 481,009 shares were traded during 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 boosted their price target on Carriage Services from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Carriage Services Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $39.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $633.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.93.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $100.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.49 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 business earned $0.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Carriage Services's payout ratio is 20.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Paul Donald Elliott sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.78, for a total value of $188,900.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 34,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,290,791.48. This trade represents a 12.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 12.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Carriage Services

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Carriage Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,272,000. EMC Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Carriage Services by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 6,227 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Carriage Services by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 27,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 5,093 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carriage Services in the fourth quarter valued at $821,000. 66.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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