Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) Rating Lowered to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Service Corporation International from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Service Corporation International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Service Corporation International from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Service Corporation International from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.67.

Service Corporation International Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:SCI opened at $77.10 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Service Corporation International has a one year low of $68.41 and a one year high of $90.99. The company has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.77.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.02). Service Corporation International had a return on equity of 34.96% and a net margin of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Service Corporation International will post 4.00 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Service Corporation International by 12.0% during the first quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,161,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,835,000 after buying an additional 124,151 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Service Corporation International during the second quarter worth $80,965,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 3.8% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 881,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,996,000 after buying an additional 32,137 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 18.3% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 164,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,609,000 after buying an additional 25,524 shares during the period. Finally, Aureus Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Service Corporation International by 196.8% in the first quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 112,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,257,000 after buying an additional 74,387 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

About Service Corporation International

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) is a Houston-based provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services. The company operates funeral homes, cemeteries and cremation facilities, offering arrangements for traditional funerals, memorial services and cremations, as well as cemetery property, burial services and related merchandise.

SCI serves families primarily in the United States and Canada through a network of locations and a portfolio of brands that includes Dignity Memorial, Funeraria del Angel and Neptune Society.