StockNews.com Upgrades Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Separately, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $77.06 on Thursday. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $67.19 and a 12 month high of $89.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.22.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.06%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $83,066,078.48. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Co. International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,952,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,600,000 after acquiring an additional 492,822 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Service Co. International by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,901,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,916,000 after purchasing an additional 2,846,159 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,239,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,624,000 after purchasing an additional 27,429 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,950,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,471,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,650,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,734,000 after buying an additional 328,686 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Service Co. International

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.