Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquires New Holdings in Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Service Co. International by 0.5% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 333,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Service Co. International by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 73,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,720,000 after buying an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Service Co. International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Service Co. International by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 467,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,207,000 after buying an additional 10,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Service Co. International in the 2nd quarter worth $1,203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Service Co. International in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $70.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Service Co. International from $74.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 11th.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of Service Co. International stock opened at $60.39 on Tuesday. Service Co. International has a 52-week low of $52.89 and a 52-week high of $74.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.19 and a 200-day moving average of $61.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.64.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.08. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.06% and a return on equity of 32.58%. The company had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $978.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Service Co. International’s payout ratio is currently 36.48%.

Service Co. International announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 8th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Service Co. International

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Funeral and Cemetery segments. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses.