Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Stewart Information Services Co. (NYSE:STC) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the three brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.33.

Several analysts have issued reports on STC shares. Stephens lifted their price target on Stewart Information Services from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Stewart Information Services from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.11, for a total value of $757,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 76,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,851,076.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 74.9% during the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 698 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 60.3% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 92.8% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 79.6% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,067 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of STC opened at $59.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.34 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.11 and a quick ratio of 2.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.94. Stewart Information Services has a one year low of $36.81 and a one year high of $65.35.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $582.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $566.46 million. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 3.85% and a net margin of 1.35%. The firm’s revenue was down 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Stewart Information Services will post 4.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 171.17%.

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.