BTIG Research Boosts Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Price Target to $70.00

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) had its price target raised by BTIG Research from $68.00 to $70.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. BTIG Research currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on STC. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Stewart Information Services from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Stewart Information Services presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $69.33.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of STC opened at $61.64 on Monday. Stewart Information Services has a 52-week low of $38.40 and a 52-week high of $65.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 40.55 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.30. The company has a quick ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The insurance provider reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $554.32 million during the quarter. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 4.69% and a net margin of 1.83%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Stewart Information Services will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 125.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Stewart Information Services news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.11, for a total transaction of $757,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 76,867 shares in the company, valued at $4,851,076.37. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.99% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STC. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Stewart Information Services during the 4th quarter valued at $805,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 5.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 10,766 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 136,935 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,045,000 after purchasing an additional 17,451 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 705,777 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,464,000 after purchasing an additional 31,211 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,930 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.