Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.17 EPS

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by ($0.17), FiscalAI reports. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 4.12%. The firm had revenue of $900.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $903.67 million.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Stewart Information Services stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $52.72. 281,599 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 244,577. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.04. Stewart Information Services has a one year low of $48.74 and a one year high of $78.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stewart Information Services 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,784 shares in the company, valued at $814,981.44. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.94% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on STC shares. Zacks Research raised Stewart Information Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.25.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE: STC) is a global provider of title insurance and real estate transaction services. Through its Stewart Title operations, the company helps protect property owners, lenders and other participants from losses arising from defects in a property’s title.

The company offers title searches and examinations, title insurance policies, escrow and closing services, settlement services, and related solutions for residential and commercial real estate transactions.