Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Receives Overweight Rating from Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $82.00 price objective on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

NYSE:STC opened at $68.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.43. Stewart Information Services has a one year low of $56.16 and a one year high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 94.34%.

Insider Activity at Stewart Information Services

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,330 shares in the company, valued at $4,842,259.60. This represents a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Stewart Information Services by 1.4% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Stewart Information Services by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $330,000. Trust Point Inc. raised its position in Stewart Information Services by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 13,918 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 210.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.