Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the four brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $92.00.

SCI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Service Corporation International in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Service Corporation International from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Service Corporation International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Service Corporation International from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st.

Service Corporation International Stock Performance

SCI opened at $81.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.89. Service Corporation International has a twelve month low of $71.75 and a twelve month high of $89.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.19.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 33.28%. Service Corporation International’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Service Corporation International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.800-3.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Service Corporation International’s payout ratio is 34.50%.

Insider Activity at Service Corporation International

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 17,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $1,435,063.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 982,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,462,896.03. The trade was a 1.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Sumner J. Waring III sold 30,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $2,519,142.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 295,192 shares in the company, valued at $24,542,262.88. This trade represents a 9.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 226,282 shares of company stock valued at $18,340,798 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Corporation International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Service Corporation International by 225.9% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Service Corporation International in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Corporation International in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Corporation International in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Corporation International in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Corporation 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.