Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.31 Per Share

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 6th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of 0.31 per share on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30.

Service Co. International has increased its dividend by an average of 12.8% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Service Co. International has a dividend payout ratio of 30.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Service Co. International to earn $3.92 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.6%.

Service Co. International Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of SCI stock traded up $2.78 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.50. 756,941 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 905,872. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.38. Service Co. International has a twelve month low of $57.03 and a twelve month high of $86.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.91, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ellen Ochoa sold 2,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.41, for a total value of $201,875.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCI has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on Service Co. International from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Service Co. International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.25.

Service Co. International Company Profile

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.