Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Receives $98.00 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $98.00.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Service Corporation International in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Service Corporation International from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Service Corporation International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Service Corporation International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st.

Service Corporation International Stock Up 0.4%

SCI stock opened at $82.95 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97. Service Corporation International has a 12 month low of $71.75 and a 12 month high of $86.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.14. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 34.21%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Service Corporation International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Service Corporation International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Tammy R. Moore sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total transaction of $402,400.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,713.92. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.87, for a total transaction of $614,999.00. Following the sale, the director owned 28,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,267,349.56. This trade represents a 21.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Corporation International

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 29,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 43,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in shares of Service Corporation International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Service Corporation International in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Corporation International Company Profile

Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) is a leading provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in North America. Through its network of funeral homes, cemeteries, memorial parks and crematoria, the company offers a broad array of end-of-life services, including traditional funeral ceremonies, memorialization, burial and cremation. In addition to core services, SCI provides grief counseling, pre-need planning and merchandise such as caskets, vaults, urns and memorialization products.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Service Corporation International operates more than 1,900 funeral homes, over 450 cemeteries and 40 combination facilities across the United States and Canada.