Reviewing Service Corporation International (SCI) & Its Competitors

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) is one of 165 publicly-traded companies in the “Diversified Consumer Services” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Service Corporation International to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Service Corporation International and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Service Corporation International	1	0	5	0	2.67
Service Corporation International Competitors	1442	3454	5299	197	2.41

Service Corporation International presently has a consensus price target of $93.25, indicating a potential upside of 24.48%. As a group, “Diversified Consumer Services” companies have a potential upside of 63.84%. Given Service Corporation International’s competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Service Corporation International has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Profitability

This table compares Service Corporation International and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Service Corporation International	12.70%	34.96%	2.93%
Service Corporation International Competitors	-3.82%	-29.65%	2.33%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Service Corporation International and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Service Corporation International	$4.31 billion	$542.61 million	18.59
Service Corporation International Competitors	$3.26 billion	$221.82 million	15.42

Service Corporation International has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Service Corporation International is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

Service Corporation International pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Service Corporation International pays out 35.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Diversified Consumer Services” companies pay a dividend yield of 6.0% and pay out 36.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Service Corporation International has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

85.5% of Service Corporation International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of shares of all “Diversified Consumer Services” companies are owned by institutional investors. 3.4% of Service Corporation International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.5% of shares of all “Diversified Consumer Services” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Service Corporation International has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Service Corporation International’s competitors have a beta of 0.53, meaning that their average share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Service Corporation International beats its competitors on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

About Service Corporation International

Service Corporation International (SCI) is a provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services in the United States and Canada. Its offerings include funeral and memorial services, cremation, cemetery property and merchandise, as well as advance-planning arrangements. The company serves families through a network of funeral homes and cemeteries, including locations that operate under brands such as Dignity Memorial, Funeraria del Angel and National Cremation Society. Founded in 1962 by Robert L. Waltrip, Service Corporation International is headquartered in Houston, Texas.