Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Shares Up 4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) rose 4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $83.68 and last traded at $84.10. Approximately 237,586 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 1,202,007 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SCI shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com lowered Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.50.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 36.06%.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total transaction of $515,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,674.96. The trade was a 12.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Co. International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 359.8% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 469 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Co. International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Service Co. International during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Service Co. International

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.