Charles Fargason, a director at Carriage Services (CSV), recently bought 3,000 shares. The buy increased his holdings by 14%, and came to a total cost of $94,300.
The buy came a few weeks after the company CEO bought 2,000 shares, paying $58,800 to do so. Other Carriage insiders this year have been sellers of shares, largely at the VP level. The sales have been a mix of stock option exercises, and regular sales of shares.
Overall, Carriage insiders own 16.7% of shares.
The cemetery and funeral services provider is up 4% over the past year, far lagging the overall market.
Operationally, Carriage has struggled. Earnings are off by 25% over the past year, even as overall revenues grew by 5%. And Carriage had a low 7% profit margin on its services.
Action to take: Shares have been in an uptrend since last November, even with the company’s struggling operations. Momentum investors may continue to like shares here, but this will be a slowly-moving stock.
At current prices, Carriage also pays a 1.4% dividend. The payout has not increased in the past year, however.
For traders, the January 2025 $35 calls, last trading for about $2.15, should see mid-to-high double-digit returns between now and the start of next year. As with holding shares, it may take time for the trade to play out.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.
