Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

SCI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.25.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $86.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.83. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $57.49 and a 52-week high of $88.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $78.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.79. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Service Co. International’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total transaction of $201,875.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $590,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Service Co. International by 43.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 5,161 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter valued at $423,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 103,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,680,000 after purchasing an additional 11,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in shares of Service Co. International by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 589,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,722,000 after purchasing an additional 35,514 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is 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.