StockNews.com Downgrades Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) to Sell

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

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Service Co. International presently has a consensus 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 $80.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $78.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.87. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $67.19 and a 52 week high of $89.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (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 predict that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Co. International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Service Co. International by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,900,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,899,000 after purchasing an additional 55,000 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 102.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 122,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,640,000 after buying an additional 61,919 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 7,802.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 7,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.