Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of STC opened at $74.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.19 and a beta of 1.21. Stewart Information Services has a 1-year low of $55.30 and a 1-year high of $78.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.21. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The business had revenue of $667.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $956,073.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,842,259.60. The trade was a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 57.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 716 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at about $65,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the second quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the third quarter worth about $205,000. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides title insurance and real estate transaction related services in the United States and internationally. The company involves in searching, examining, closing, and insuring the condition of the title to real property. It also offers home and personal insurance services; services for tax-deferred exchanges; and digital customer engagement platform services.