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

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on STC. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Stewart Information Services in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Stewart Information Services from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Stewart Information Services Price Performance

Stewart Information Services stock opened at $67.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.86. Stewart Information Services has a 1 year low of $58.28 and a 1 year high of $78.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82 and a beta of 1.05.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services will post 6.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Stewart Information Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 310.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 807.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Stewart Information Services by 84.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,461 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 58.7% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

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.