Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,330,000 shares, a decrease of 18.1% from the December 31st total of 7,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 914,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.9 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Service Co. International stock traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $78.77. The company had a trading volume of 790,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 993,570. The firm has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.87. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $64.10 and a 52 week high of $89.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.03 and a 200-day moving average of $79.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91.

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

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 34.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 50,000 shares of the company’s 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 $84,588,694.63. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Elisabeth G. Nash sold 56,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.13, for a total value of $4,831,893.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 109,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,410,563.80. This trade represents a 33.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,655 shares of company stock valued at $9,356,203 in the last three months. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Service Co. International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCI. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Service Co. International by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 40,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,201,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 185,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,348,000 after buying an additional 3,375 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after acquiring an additional 9,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Service Co. International by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 612,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,925,000 after purchasing an additional 27,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. 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.