Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Lowered to Sell Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on SCI. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Service Corporation International from $93.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Service Corporation International in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.67.

Service Corporation International Stock Up 3.2%

NYSE SCI opened at $82.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $81.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.80. Service Corporation International has a 52 week low of $68.41 and a 52 week high of $90.99.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 34.38%. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Service Corporation International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.300 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Service Corporation International will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Service Corporation International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Service Corporation International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas Ryan sold 253,391 shares of Service Corporation International stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.25, for a total transaction of $21,601,582.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,006,212 shares in the company, valued at $85,779,573. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Service Corporation International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Service Corporation International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $435,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 38.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,775,000 after buying an additional 34,051 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 417,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,474,000 after buying an additional 136,770 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 32.6% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 2,398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Corporation International Company Profile

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) is a provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in North America. The company operates funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria, serving families through arrangements for traditional funerals, memorial services, cremations and related end-of-life needs.

SCI offers funeral and cemetery merchandise, burial and cremation property, memorialization products and other services. It also provides preneed arrangements, allowing customers to plan and fund funeral or cemetery services in advance.