Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $81.40 and last traded at $80.66, with a volume of 188873 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

Service Co. International Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $11.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.79. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.07% and a net margin of 12.32%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Service Co. International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.48%.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total transaction of $5,964,792.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,109,359.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total transaction of $5,964,792.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,109,359.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $201,875.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Co. International

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCI. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in Service Co. International by 100.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Service Co. International by 406.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 542 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Service Co. International by 121.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in Service Co. International by 258.6% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Service Co. International in the third quarter worth approximately $57,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.