The ratings on Houston-based Carriage Services Inc. reflect the company's "weak" business risk profile, characterized by its narrow focus of its operations in the mature death care industry. Its "highly leveraged" financial risk profile is reflective of its significant debt burden. Carriage Services is a leading provider of funeral and cemetery services and products operating 163 funeral homes across 26 states and 33 cemeteries in 12 states. The company is on track to meet our expectations of mid-single-digit revenue growth. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2012, the company's 7% growth rate modestly exceeded our expectations. We continue to expect growth to be primarily driven by Carriage's acquisitive growth strategy, considering the limited organic growth opportunities in the established
