Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $81.50 According to Brokerages

Shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation (NYSE:STC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.50.

STC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Benchmark started coverage on Stewart Information Services in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of Stewart Information Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $77.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Stewart Information Services from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 18th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Brian Glaze sold 1,500 shares of Stewart Information Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.16, for a total value of $103,740.00. Following the sale, the insider 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.94% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stewart Information Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Stewart Information Services in the second quarter valued at $347,274,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Stewart Information Services by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 842,077 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $59,164,000 after buying an additional 77,618 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Stewart Information Services during the 2nd quarter worth $17,759,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Stewart Information Services by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 215,213 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,253,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Stewart Information Services by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 146,870 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,044,000 after acquiring an additional 13,317 shares during the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stewart Information Services Stock Up 2.0%

STC opened at $51.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.78 and its 200 day moving average is $66.02. Stewart Information Services has a fifty-two week low of $48.74 and a fifty-two week high of $78.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 1.04.

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The insurance provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by ($0.24). Stewart Information Services had a return on equity of 10.02% and a net margin of 4.12%.The business had revenue of $895.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Stewart Information Services’s quarterly revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Stewart Information Services will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stewart Information Services Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. This is an increase from Stewart Information Services’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.5250. Stewart Information Services’s payout ratio is currently 48.25%.

About Stewart Information Services

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

The company’s business includes title examination, search and insurance services, escrow and closing services, settlement services, and related transaction support.