Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $88.00 price target on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Stewart Information Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

Stewart Information Services Stock Performance

Shares of STC opened at $66.47 on Friday. Stewart Information Services has a 1 year low of $57.10 and a 1 year high of $78.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.78.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $838.07 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Stewart Information Services will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a boost from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is 46.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian Glaze sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 11,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,981.44. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Stewart Information Services by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 128,363 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,158,000 after acquiring an additional 3,022 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 6.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,105 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 44,842.9% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Stewart Information Services by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,522 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,102,000 after purchasing an additional 7,923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

About Stewart Information Services

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

The company also offers valuation and appraisal services, mortgage services, and technology-enabled solutions for the real estate and mortgage industries.