Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Service Corporation International has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $90.25.
• Insider selling was noted, with two directors selling a total of 10,364 shares recently, indicating potential changes in confidence among company insiders.
• The company reported a net margin of 12.60% and earnings per share of $0.88 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 3% revenue increase year-over-year.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.25.

A number of research firms have weighed in on SCI. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up previously from $85.00) on shares of Service Corporation International in a report on Monday, August 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Service Corporation International from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Service Corporation International in a research note on Saturday, September 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Service Corporation International news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,514 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.41, for a total value of $199,636.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 7,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.60, for a total value of $632,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,908,692.80. This represents a 17.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,082 shares of company stock valued at $20,117,233 over the last three months. 4.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Corporation International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,539 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Service Corporation International in the 1st quarter worth about $869,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Service Corporation International by 136.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 782,429 shares of the company's stock worth $62,751,000 after buying an additional 451,068 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Service Corporation International by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 31,019 shares of the company's stock worth $2,488,000 after buying an additional 3,473 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Service Corporation International by 7.4% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,966 shares of the company's stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Service Corporation International Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE SCI traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 908,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,061,556. Service Corporation International has a 52-week low of $71.75 and a 52-week high of $89.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $79.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.19, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.89.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.60% and a return on equity of 32.84%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.79 earnings per share. Service Corporation International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.700-4.00 EPS. Research analysts expect that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Corporation International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Service Corporation International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.69%.

Service Corporation 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.

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