SCI and other DCI stocks buck the Year-to-Date market trend

April 18, 2022/Finance/

The markets were closed on Good Friday and we thought that might be an appropriate time to take a look at how the stocks that comprise the Funeral Director Daily Death Care Index (DCI) have been doing in relation to each other and in relation to the stock market as a whole since the beginning of the year.

What we found that you are probably aware of if you listen to business news is that the market indexes most followed in America — The Dow Jones Industrials, NASDAQ, and the S&P 500 — all remain down in their performance for the year to date. . .as of April 15. They have all rebounded from their lows of the calendar year, but all still remain below the January 1, 2022, numbers. Specifically, the Dow Jones is down 5.4%, the NASDAQ down 14.7%, and the S&P 500 down 7.9%.

So, it would not be surprising to see the seven stocks that comprise the DCI to be down somewhere in those levels also. When checking, however, we find three DCI stocks that are bucking that trend. They are Service Corporation International (SCI), StoneMor, and Security National Financial Corporation. The other four stocks that comprise the DCI have all moved in tandem with the index trend year-to-date.

Certainly the largest of these trend-bucking companies is SCI with revenues of over $4 billion annually. As of Friday, SCI had moved a positive 1.31% Year-to-Date (YTD). To be honest, SCI saw a decline early in the year with the price falling to $58.12 on February 17. Since that low, the company’s stock has rebounded over 20% to $70.37 as of Friday. Interestingly enough, that low point and subsequent beginning rise to today’s price correlates with the company’s statement of 2022 Financial Guidance and the announcement of an increased dividend going forward in mid-February.

Security National Financial Corporation (SNFC) with parts of its multi-faceted company in the death care realm, including preneed, funeral homes, cemeteries, and insurance assignments reported total 2021 revenue, according to Seeking Alpha, of $470.7 million. The results for SNFC have led to a YTD increase in their stock price of 11.92% since the opening on January 3. The stock for the year has been on a steady upward climb without a large drop earlier in the 1st Quarter as was evident with SCI.

Finally, the stock of StoneMor, Inc., a company that according to Seeking Alpha did $322 million in total revenue in 2021, has seen its stock move from $2.50 on January 3, 2022, to $2.51 as of Friday. While not a very large gain, it certainly is not a drop in market value as we have seen with other death care stocks and the market indices in general.

For the record, the other four components of the seven member Death Care Index have seen stock drops of the following percentages according to Seeking Alpha since January 3, 2022:

Hillenbrand Industries: -18.7%
Matthews International: -17.6%
Park Lawn Corporation: -20.2%
Carriage Services: -16.0%

Where does the DCI stand?: We last checked the Death Care Index on March 11, 2022. The DCI number, which is reflective of owning one share of each of the seven DCI member stocks, stood at $228.00 on that day. As of Friday, April 15, 2022, the DCI stood at $231.78 — an increase of $3.78 or 1.66% since that time.

On January 1, 2022, the DCI stood at $265.67. . . so with Friday’s number of $231.78, the drop of the DCI Year-to-date would be $33.89 in raw dollars or 12.8%. . . . .closely in line with the YTD drop of the NASDAQ.

Disclaimer: The author of this article holds stock positions in Service Corporation International, StoneMor Inc, Security National Financial Corporation, Hillenbrand Industries, and Park Lawn Corporation.