Squarepoint Ops LLC Takes $282,000 Position in Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV)

Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE:CSV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 7,081 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Carriage Services by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 590,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,548,000 after acquiring an additional 65,358 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Carriage Services by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 237,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,454,000 after acquiring an additional 34,342 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Carriage Services during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,159,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Carriage Services by 92.0% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 50,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,018,000 after acquiring an additional 24,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Carriage Services by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,698,000 after acquiring an additional 24,098 shares during the last quarter. 66.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Carriage Services Stock Up 1.1%

Carriage Services stock opened at $45.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $706.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.13. Carriage Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.84 and a 12 month high of $45.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Carriage Services (NYSE:CSV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.16. Carriage Services had a return on equity of 23.52% and a net margin of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $8.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.17 million. Equities analysts predict that Carriage Services, Inc. will post 2.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carriage Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a dividend of $0.1125 per share. This represents a $0.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 5th. Carriage Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CSV. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (up from $48.00) on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Carriage Services in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Carriage Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carriage Services

In other news, President Steven D. Metzger sold 2,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.01, for a total value of $99,704.92. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 78,897 shares in the company, valued at $3,156,668.97. The trade was a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,000 shares of company stock valued at $362,141. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Carriage Services Company Profile

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.