Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The insurance provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $900.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $903.67 million.

Stewart Information Services Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE STC traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $52.72. 281,599 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 244,037. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $48.74 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $61.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.27.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5250. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is presently 48.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In other news, insider Brian Glaze sold 1,500 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total transaction of $103,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,981.44. The trade was a 11.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Stewart Information Services in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $77.00 to $71.00 in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Stewart Information Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Stewart Information Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stewart Information Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.25.

About Stewart Information Services

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.