Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $88.57 and last traded at $88.34, with a volume of 92560 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Trading Up 1.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.06 and its 200 day moving average is $76.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of Service Co. International stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total transaction of $4,831,893.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,410,563.80. The trade was a 33.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.11, for a total transaction of $4,305,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 982,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,588,694.63. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCI. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Service Co. International by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Service Co. International by 3.1% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Service Co. International by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.