StockNews.com Upgrades Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Stewart Information Services Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of STC opened at $65.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 1.05. Stewart Information Services has a twelve month low of $58.61 and a twelve month high of $78.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.30.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.01. Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 2.94%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Stewart Information Services will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is 76.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 337.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,400,000 after purchasing an additional 35,088 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 630,751 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $47,151,000 after buying an additional 8,597 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 205.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 9,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Stewart Information Services by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Stewart Information Services Company Profile

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.