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

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $78.51 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $78.71 and a 200-day moving average of $80.20. The company has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $67.19 and a 1-year high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Co. International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 263.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 11,530 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,211,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,567,000 after acquiring an additional 156,086 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Service Co. International by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 920,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,452,000 after acquiring an additional 5,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,229,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.