Aureus Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Service Corporation International $SCI

Aureus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) by 196.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 112,192 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,387 shares during the quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Service Corporation International were worth $9,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SCI. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Service Corporation International by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,451,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,128,000 after buying an additional 16,541 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Service Corporation International during the 4th quarter worth $435,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Service Corporation International by 76.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,892,000 after acquiring an additional 9,956 shares during the period. Pettee Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Service Corporation International in the 4th quarter worth $499,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Service Corporation International in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Service Corporation International from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Service Corporation International from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Service Corporation International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered Service Corporation International from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Service Corporation International from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Service Corporation International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $77.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22. Service Corporation International has a 52-week low of $68.41 and a 52-week high of $88.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.31. The company has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.84.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.03). Service Corporation International had a return on equity of 34.30% and a net margin of 12.36%.The company had revenue of $544.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Service Corporation International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.050-4.350 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Service Corporation International will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Corporation International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is a positive change from Service Corporation International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Service Corporation International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

Service Corporation International Profile

Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) is a leading provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in North America. Through its network of funeral homes, cemeteries, memorial parks and crematoria, the company offers a broad array of end-of-life services, including traditional funeral ceremonies, memorialization, burial and cremation. In addition to core services, SCI provides grief counseling, pre-need planning and merchandise such as caskets, vaults, urns and memorialization products.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Service Corporation International operates more than 1,900 funeral homes, over 450 cemeteries and 40 combination facilities across the United States and Canada.