Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $81.50 According to Analysts

Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.50.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Stewart Information Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, July 27th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Down 2.6%

Stewart Information Services stock opened at $50.40 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.78. The company has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 1.04. Stewart Information Services has a fifty-two week low of $48.74 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.24). Stewart Information Services had a net margin of 4.12% and a return on equity of 10.02%. The firm had revenue of $895.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services will post 5.26 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5250. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Brian Glaze sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total value of $103,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,981.44. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Stewart Information Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Stewart Information Services by 93.6% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,152 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 34.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 6,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 20.0% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 5,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 193.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 22,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,468,000 after acquiring an additional 14,647 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Stewart Information Services

Stewart Information Services Corporation is a global real estate services company headquartered in Houston, Texas. Through its Stewart Title operations, the company provides title insurance and related services that help protect property owners, lenders and other parties involved in real estate transactions from certain title defects and ownership-related risks.

The company’s business includes title examination, search and insurance services, escrow and closing services, settlement services, and related transaction support.