Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) Short Interest Up 32.2% in August

Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during 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 volume of 115,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CSV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price (up previously from $32.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a report on Tuesday, May 28th.

Carriage Services Trading Down 0.3 %

CSV stock traded down $0.09 during midday 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. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. Carriage Services has a 52 week low of $18.06 and a 52 week high of $35.00. The stock has a market cap of $500.87 million, a PE ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.94.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $102.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.40 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Carriage Services will post 2.34 EPS for the current year.

Carriage Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Carriage Services

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

Institutional Trading of Carriage Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Carriage Services by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 616,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,547,000 after buying an additional 46,700 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Carriage Services by 7.4% during the first quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 342,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,261,000 after purchasing an additional 23,454 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 201.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 23.1% during the 4th 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. grew its position in shares of Carriage Services by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. Harbert Fund Advisors Inc. now owns 208,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,215,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. 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.