Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Price Target Raised to $97.00

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) had its price target lifted by Oppenheimer from $94.00 to $97.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Service Corporation International in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Service Corporation International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Service Corporation International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $98.00.

Service Corporation International Trading Up 0.0%

SCI stock opened at $84.77 on Thursday. Service Corporation International has a twelve month low of $71.75 and a twelve month high of $86.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.48.

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

Service Corporation International Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Corporation International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 7,700 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 28,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,267,349.56. This represents a 21.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Tammy R. Moore sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total value of $402,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,742,713.92. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Service Corporation International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $435,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Service Corporation International by 38.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 121,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,775,000 after buying an additional 34,051 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Service Corporation International by 48.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Service Corporation International by 3.1% in the first 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, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 309.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 1,936 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Service Corporation International

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.