Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Friday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Stewart Information Services from $84.00 to $74.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Shares of Stewart Information Services stock opened at $65.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.56. Stewart Information Services has a 52 week low of $56.16 and a 52 week high of $78.44.

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In related news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total value of $956,073.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 65,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,842,259.60. This trade represents a 16.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,538 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 3,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 7.4% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 58.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.