Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Short Interest Update

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,204,028 shares, a growth of 27.6% from the March 15th total of 5,647,851 shares. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,305,637 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Service Corporation International from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Service Corporation International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Service Corporation International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Service Corporation International in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $98.00.

Service Corporation International Stock Performance

NYSE SCI opened at $83.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $81.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.58. Service Corporation International has a 1-year low of $74.14 and a 1-year high of $86.67.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.14. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Service Corporation International had a return on equity of 34.21% and a net margin of 12.59%.Service Corporation International’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Service Corporation International will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Service Corporation International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Service Corporation International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Service Corporation International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.79%.

Insider Transactions at Service Corporation International

In related news, CAO Tammy R. Moore sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.48, for a total transaction of $402,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,713.92. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.87, for a total value of $614,999.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,267,349.56. The trade was a 21.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Corporation International

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional grew its stake in Service Corporation International by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 10,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in Service Corporation International by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 29,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in Service Corporation International by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 43,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,622,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in Service Corporation International by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Service Corporation International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Service Corporation International

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.