Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $87.51 and last traded at $87.4240, with a volume of 147444 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on SCI. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Service Corporation International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Service Corporation International in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Service Corporation International from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Service Corporation International from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $98.00.

Service Corporation International Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 34.21%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Service Corporation International will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Service Corporation International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Service Corporation International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Tammy R. Moore sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total transaction of $402,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,713.92. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.87, for a total transaction of $614,999.00. Following the sale, the director owned 28,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,349.56. This represents a 21.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Service Corporation International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Service Corporation International by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,451,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,128,000 after buying an additional 16,541 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Service Corporation International by 31.8% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 549,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,701,000 after buying an additional 132,591 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Service Corporation International by 48.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 417,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,474,000 after buying an additional 136,770 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Service Corporation International by 3.0% during the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 394,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,869,000 after buying an additional 11,484 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in Service Corporation International by 8.4% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 381,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,723,000 after buying an additional 29,478 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Corporation International Company Profile

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.