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

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

Separately, Oppenheimer raised 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Price Performance

NYSE SCI opened at $79.81 on Wednesday. Service Co. International has a 12 month low of $67.19 and a 12 month high of $89.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.20. 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 (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. 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. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,712,674.96. This represents a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.56, for a total value of $4,228,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,066,078.48. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Co. International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 110,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the third quarter valued at about $230,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 53.8% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 51,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,094,000 after purchasing an additional 18,132 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Service Co. International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Company Profile

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.