Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Service Co. International Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of SCI opened at $81.62 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.03. The company has a market cap of $11.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $56.38 and a twelve month high of $83.24.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total transaction of $5,964,792.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,109,359.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total transaction of $5,964,792.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,109,359.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total transaction of $201,875.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Co. International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SCI. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in Service Co. International by 53.5% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,795 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the 1st quarter valued at about $224,137,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,183,000 after buying an additional 135,017 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,810,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,875,000 after buying an additional 61,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 1,685,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,052,000 after acquiring an additional 161,570 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Service Co. International

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.