Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI) Short Interest Up 20.5% in August

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,110,000 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the July 31st total of 5,900,000 shares. Approximately 5.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Service Co. International from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Service Co. International from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded Service Co. International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Service Co. International from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.60.

Insider Activity at Service Co. International

In other news, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.38, for a total transaction of $209,902.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,388,327.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 80,638 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.97, for a total value of $5,964,792.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 988,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,109,359.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Tony Coelho sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.38, for a total value of $209,902.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,629 shares in the company, valued at $4,388,327.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 86,180 shares of company stock worth $6,376,570 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Service Co. International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SCI. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 7,239,783 shares of the company's stock worth $514,966,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524,795 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Service Co. International in the first quarter valued at $224,137,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Service Co. International by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,942,559 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,183,000 after buying an additional 135,017 shares during the last quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Service Co. International by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. now owns 1,685,111 shares of the company's stock worth $125,052,000 after acquiring an additional 161,570 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Service Co. International in the 4th quarter worth about $92,331,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Service Co. International Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of SCI traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $78.27. 1,565,177 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 977,455. Service Co. International has a 52 week low of $52.89 and a 52 week high of $80.37. The company has a market cap of $11.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.07% and a net margin of 12.32%. Service Co. International's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Service Co. International will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

Service Co. International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Service Co. International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.48%.

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.