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 report released on Tuesday morning.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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, December 10th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STC opened at $70.34 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $72.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.16. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.18 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Stewart Information Services has a 52-week low of $56.16 and a 52-week high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The insurance provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $667.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.40 million. Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.86 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services will post 3.32 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.34%.

Insider Transactions at Stewart Information Services

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $4,842,259.60. This trade represents a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.99% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STC. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Stewart Information Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at $74,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 210.9% in the 3rd 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. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 3rd quarter worth $205,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.