Is Service Corporation International (SCI) A Good Stock To Buy?

Our extensive research has shown that imitating the smart money can generate significant returns for retail investors, which is why we track more than 700 prominent money managers and analyze their quarterly 13F filings. The stocks that are heavily bought by hedge funds historically outperformed the market, though there is no shortage of high profile gigantic failures like hedge funds’ recent losses in Valeant. Let’s take a closer look at what the funds we track think about Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) in this article.

Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI) has experienced an increase in enthusiasm from smart money lately. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Westar Energy Inc (NYSE:WR), Carlyle Group LP (NASDAQ:CG), and IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) to gather more data points.

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a look at the latest action regarding Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI).

What does the smart money think about Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI)?

At Q3’s end, a total of 37 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of 48% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Iridian Asset Management, managed by David Cohen and Harold Levy, holds the number one position in Service Corporation International (NYSE:SCI). Iridian Asset Management has an $243.8 million position in the stock, comprising 2.1% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Ivory Capital (Investment Mgmt), led by Curtis Macnguyen, holding an $74.2 million position; 2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining professional money managers that are bullish contain Joshua Friedman and Mitchell Julis’s Canyon Capital Advisors, Jeffrey Altman’s Owl Creek Asset Management and Peter S. Park’s Park West Asset Management.