Zacks Investment Management Sells 1,220 Shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Zacks Investment Management decreased its position in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,280 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,220 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management owned approximately 0.05% of Carriage Services worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its position in Carriage Services by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 17,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Carriage Services by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 852 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Carriage Services by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Carriage Services by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 8,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Carriage Services by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CSV. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut Carriage Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th.

Carriage Services Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of CSV opened at $39.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Carriage Services, Inc. has a one year low of $24.07 and a one year high of $42.75. The company has a market cap of $617.85 million, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.77.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.11. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $97.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th will be paid a $0.1125 dividend. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Carriage Services’s payout ratio 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.