What Happened?
Shares of funeral services company Service International (NYSE:SCI) jumped 1.9% in the afternoon session after an analyst at UBS reiterated a Buy rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock.
The bank's confidence stemmed from management meetings where the company highlighted the long-term growth opportunity presented by the aging baby boomer population. Service Corp International expected to see steady-to-improving funeral volume growth starting in 2026. This outlook was supported by the company's recent third-quarter 2025 earnings, which surpassed Wall Street's expectations for both revenue and profit. In another move that benefited shareholders, the company also increased its quarterly cash dividend.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $77.23, up 1.8% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy Service International? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
Service International’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 3 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was about 1 month ago when the stock gained 5.4% on the news that the company reported third-quarter 2025 financial results that surpassed analyst expectations for revenue and profit. The funeral services provider announced adjusted earnings per share of $0.87, a 10.1% increase from the prior year and ahead of the $0.83 analysts had projected. Revenue grew 4.4% year-on-year to $1.06 billion, also topping Wall Street's forecasts. While the company's free cash flow margin declined from the prior year, management maintained its full-year earnings guidance. The stronger-than-expected quarterly performance appeared to be the main driver for the stock, signaling to investors that the company is effectively navigating the current market.
Service International is flat since the beginning of the year, and at $77.23 per share, it is trading 10.6% below its 52-week high of $86.39 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Service International’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,556.
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