Short Interest in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) Increases By 32.2%

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 276,900 shares, an increase of 32.2% from the August 15th total of 209,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 115,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Carriage Services Price Performance

Shares of Carriage Services stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $32.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 113,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,427. Carriage Services has a one year low of $18.06 and a one year high of $35.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $500.87 million, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.10. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 21.99% and a net margin of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $102.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.40 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Carriage Services will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.17%.

Insider Transactions at Carriage Services

In other news, SVP Shane Pudenz sold 1,443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $367,458. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Carriage Services news, SVP Shane Pudenz sold 1,443 shares of Carriage Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $39,393.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,460 shares in the company, valued at $367,458. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carlos R. Quezada purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $29.44 per share, for a total transaction of $58,880.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 60,061 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,195.84. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,544 shares of company stock valued at $401,074 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carriage Services

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 46,700 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Carriage Services by 7.4% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 342,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,261,000 after purchasing an additional 23,454 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Carriage Services by 201.5% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 229,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,166,000 after purchasing an additional 153,538 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Carriage Services by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 210,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,274,000 after purchasing an additional 39,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbert Fund Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Carriage Services by 31.5% in 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 period. 66.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CSV. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, August 2nd.

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.