Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on SCI. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Service Corporation International from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Service Corporation International from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Service Corporation International presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.50.

Service Corporation International Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:SCI opened at $82.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.56. Service Corporation International has a 1 year low of $71.75 and a 1 year high of $85.00.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 33.60%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. Service Corporation International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.800-3.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Service Corporation International’s dividend payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Sumner J. Waring III sold 30,300 shares of Service Corporation International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $2,519,142.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 295,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,542,262.88. This trade represents a 9.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 42,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.32, for a total transaction of $3,235,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 110,006 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,395,657.92. This trade represents a 27.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Corporation International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Service Corporation International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Service Corporation International by 38.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,775,000 after acquiring an additional 34,051 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Service Corporation International by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 417,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,474,000 after purchasing an additional 136,770 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 3.1% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 30.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Service Corporation International

Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) is a leading provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in North America. Through its network of funeral homes, cemeteries, memorial parks and crematoria, the company offers a broad array of end-of-life services, including traditional funeral ceremonies, memorialization, burial and cremation. In addition to core services, SCI provides grief counseling, pre-need planning and merchandise such as caskets, vaults, urns and memorialization products.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Service Corporation International operates more than 1,900 funeral homes, over 450 cemeteries and 40 combination facilities across the United States and Canada.