Weekly Investment Analysts’ Ratings Updates for Service Co. International (SCI)

Service Co. International (NYSE: SCI) has recently received a number of price target changes and ratings updates:

• 11/8/2024 – Service Co. International was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
• 11/1/2024 – Service Co. International had its price target raised by analysts at Raymond James from $80.00 to $85.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 11/1/2024 – Service Co. International had its price target raised by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $84.00 to $92.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 10/31/2024 – Service Co. International was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of SCI stock traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $84.09. 906,889 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 907,992. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.01. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $59.54 and a fifty-two week high of $88.32.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Service Co. International news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $201,875.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Service Co. International

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Select Equity Group L.P. boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 53.5% in the second quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,524,795 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 300.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043,354 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter valued at $224,137,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 135,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Service Co. International by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 1,810,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,875,000 after purchasing an additional 61,838 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.