Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Cut to “Sell” at 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 published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SCI. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Service Corporation International from $93.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Service Corporation International from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.67.

Service Corporation International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $77.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.81. Service Corporation International has a one year low of $68.41 and a one year high of $90.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.32.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. Service Corporation International had a return on equity of 34.90% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Service Corporation International will post 4.00 EPS for the current year.

Service Corporation International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Service Corporation International’s payout ratio is 35.73%.

Institutional Trading of Service Corporation International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCI. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Service Corporation International by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,161,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,835,000 after acquiring an additional 124,151 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Service Corporation International during the 2nd quarter worth $80,965,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 881,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,996,000 after buying an additional 32,137 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Service Corporation International by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 164,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,609,000 after buying an additional 25,524 shares during the period. Finally, Aureus Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Service Corporation International by 196.8% in the 1st quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 112,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,257,000 after buying an additional 74,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Corporation International Company Profile

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) is a Houston-based provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services. The company operates funeral homes, cemeteries and cremation facilities, offering arrangements for traditional funerals, memorial services and cremations, as well as cemetery property, burial services and related merchandise.

SCI serves families primarily in the United States and Canada through a network of locations and a portfolio of brands that includes Dignity Memorial, Funeraria del Angel and Neptune Society.