Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James boosted their price target on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.25.

Service Co. International Trading Up 1.8 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.82. The stock has a market cap of $12.84 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.64, for a total value 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 $4,566,667.36. The trade was a 4.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $4,831,893.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,410,563.80. The trade was a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock worth $9,356,203. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Co. International

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,509,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Service Co. International during the first quarter valued at about $917,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the first quarter worth about $360,000. Comerica Bank raised its stake in Service Co. International by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 80,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,005,000 after acquiring an additional 6,594 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Service Co. International in the 1st quarter worth $224,137,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.