Finance

StoneMor Opinion from Seeking Alpha

By Funeral Director Daily / September 25, 2017 /

Seeking Alpha put out an article today written by The Growth Path Guru that questions StoneMor’s ability to increase sales and also tries to figure out where the cash for future distributions will come from.  It also suggests that StoneMor is being questioned by the SEC on some issues. Funeral Director Daily take:  I’ve said…

Some History and Investment Perspective on Service Corporation International

By Funeral Director Daily / September 15, 2017 /

I’m a buy and hold investor and enjoy learning about companies that over time will bring a nice positive return to my portfolio. I also like to learn as much as I can about companies and those in the death care industry give me added perspective — I always try to learn what they are…

Article on Seeking Alpha Expects StoneMor Dividend Cut

By Funeral Director Daily / September 5, 2017 /

An article that appeared on Seeking Alpha on September 2, 2017, concludes that StoneMor Partners will be forced to either eliminate or greatly reduce their quarterly dividend soon.  StoneMor, a Master Limited Partnership built through funeral home and cemetery acquisitions has seen its stock plunge from about $26 per share in 2016 to a close…

DCI Value Down Again, Yield Continues to Rise

By Funeral Director Daily / August 22, 2017 /

We took a look at the Funeral Director Daily Death Care Index (DCI) at the close of the market day on Friday, August 18, 2017, which is a three month time period from when we last looked at it on May 19.  The DCI Index, which consists of one share of six publicly traded death…

A.M. Best Upgrades Great Western Insurance Credit Rating

By Funeral Director Daily / August 9, 2017 /

A press release from BusinessWire has indicated that the Great Western Insurance Company (GWIC) of Ogden, Utah, has had  A.M. Best upgrade their Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “bbb+” from “bbb”.  The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from positive while the outlook of the Financial Strength Rating is stable. The…

Hillenbrand Industries posts 7% Increase in Revenues

By Funeral Director Daily / August 3, 2017 /

Hillenbrand Industries, the parent company of Batesville Casket Company, posted 3rd Quarter earnings yesterday and did so by showing an increase in revenues to almost $396 million for the quarter.  That represents a 7% increase over the same quarter in 2016 and puts their fiscal year 9-month revenues about $38  million (3.4%) over the same…

Assurant Pre-Need reports Higher Income, Lower Sales

By Funeral Director Daily / August 3, 2017 /

World-wide niche insurance conglomerate Assurant reported slightly higher Net Operating Income for the 2017 2nd Quarter over the same quarter last year.They also reported higher income by 13% in the Global Pre-Need segment over the same quarter one year ago. Pre-Need income was up according to the company statement due to higher fee and investment…

Matthews International Posts Solid Quarter

By Funeral Director Daily / July 28, 2017 /

Worldwide conglomerate Matthews International posted expected in-line earnings of $1.05/share as compared to $0.97/share for the same quarter a year ago.  Quarterly revenues were $389.6 million as compared to $382.1 million last year and quarterly profits were $29.5 million as compared to $23.9 million.  You can see their Press Release here. Management reflected that higher…

FDD Reflections on 2Q Earnings of SCI and Carriage Services

By Funeral Director Daily / July 28, 2017 /

It’s always interesting to look at the earnings reports of the Death Care industry’s public companies and try to not only glean how those companies are doing, but, what does this mean for my independent funeral home.  I think, as I’ve read the reports  Wednesday night and into Thursday, this quarter is no exception in…

Carriage Services, SCI Report Earnings Yesterday

By Funeral Director Daily / July 27, 2017 /

On Thursday, July 26, funeral home consolidators Carriage Services and Service Corporation International both reported 2nd Quarter earnings. Carriage Services came in at a diluted per share income of $0.30 when they had estimated an income of $0.40 per share.  Their stock lost 1.16% to close at $26.49 for the day on the news.  You…