Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

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

Stewart Information Services Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:STC opened at $67.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Stewart Information Services has a 52-week low of $58.23 and a 52-week high of $78.44. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.27.

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

Stewart Information Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Stewart Information Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stewart Information Services

In other news, Director Matthew Morris sold 12,899 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.12, for a total transaction of $956,073.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,842,259.60. This represents a 16.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 9.2% during the 4th 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 lifted its stake in Stewart Information Services by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 4,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 310.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 452 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC increased its stake in Stewart Information Services by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 71,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,839,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. 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.