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

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

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

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $80.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Service Co. International has a one year low of $67.19 and a one year high of $89.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $80.20. The company has a market capitalization of $11.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Co. International

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