Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 20th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.32 per share on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a 3.2% increase from Service Co. International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31.

Service Co. International has raised its dividend by an average of 10.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Service Co. International has a dividend payout ratio of 30.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Service Co. International to earn $4.21 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.4%.

Service Co. International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCI opened at $80.11 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.15. Service Co. International has a fifty-two week low of $67.19 and a fifty-two week high of $89.37. The firm has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a PE ratio of 22.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.83.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. Service Co. International had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 32.18%. Sell-side analysts expect that Service Co. International will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SCI shares. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Service Co. International from $86.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Service Co. International

In other Service Co. International news, Director Tony Coelho sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.29, for a total value of $515,385.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,712,674.96. This trade represents a 12.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Service Co. International

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Service Co. International stock. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 5,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Service Co. International Company Profile

Service Corp. International engages in the provision of funeral goods and services. It operates through the Funeral and Cemetery segments. The Funeral segment offers services related to cremations, including the use of home facilities and motor vehicles, arranging and directing services, removal, preparation, embalming, memorialization, and catering.