Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $78.44 and last traded at $76.23, with a volume of 60924 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.01 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $667.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Stewart Information Services’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Stewart Information Services Co. will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,842,259.60. This trade represents a 16.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Stewart Information Services by 906.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 656,143 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $40,733,000 after purchasing an additional 590,977 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 149.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 342,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,568,000 after buying an additional 204,688 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,247,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,258,000 after buying an additional 179,364 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,330,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 7.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 985,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $73,669,000 after acquiring an additional 65,965 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

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.