Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Increases Dividend to $0.34 Per Share

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.34 per share on Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a 6.3% increase from Service Corporation International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.

Service Corporation International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 15 years. Service Corporation International has a payout ratio of 32.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Service Corporation International to earn $4.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.3%.

Service Corporation International Stock Performance

Service Corporation International stock traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 199,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,095,396. Service Corporation International has a 12-month low of $71.75 and a 12-month high of $86.67. The company has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.27.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14. Service Corporation International had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 34.21%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Company Profile

Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) is a leading provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in North America. Through its network of funeral homes, cemeteries, memorial parks and crematoria, the company offers a broad array of end-of-life services, including traditional funeral ceremonies, memorialization, burial and cremation. In addition to core services, SCI provides grief counseling, pre-need planning and merchandise such as caskets, vaults, urns and memorialization products.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Service Corporation International operates more than 1,900 funeral homes, over 450 cemeteries and 40 combination facilities across the United States and Canada.