Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $88.57 and last traded at $88.34, with a volume of 92560 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.24.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on SCI. StockNews.com cut Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.73 and a 200 day moving average of $75.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.64, for a total transaction of $218,810.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 53,324 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,566,667.36. This trade represents a 4.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total value of $4,305,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCI. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,948,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in Service Co. International by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 684,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,713,000 after acquiring an additional 17,874 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $917,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,183,000 after buying an additional 135,017 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 12.0% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 181,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,358,000 after acquiring an additional 19,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.