Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Downgraded to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on SCI. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE SCI opened at $80.75 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.81. The company has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.87. Service Co. International has a 1-year low of $67.19 and a 1-year high of $89.37.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.18% and a net margin of 12.39%. Equities analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is 36.06%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SCI. FMR LLC raised its position in Service Co. International by 300.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,055,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,043,354 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at $96,498,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 237.8% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 911,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,739,000 after acquiring an additional 641,552 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,952,636 shares of the company’s stock valued at $714,600,000 after acquiring an additional 492,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Service Co. International by 19,170.2% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 333,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,593,000 after acquiring an additional 334,904 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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.