Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.31 Per Share

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This is a positive change from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Service Co. International has raised its dividend by an average of 12.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Service Co. International has a payout ratio of 30.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Service Co. International to earn $3.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.6%.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

SCI stock opened at $85.96 on Friday. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $57.03 and a twelve month high of $87.03. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.55. The firm has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.83. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Service Co. International’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total transaction of $201,875.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

About Service Co. International

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.