Stewart Information Services (STC) versus Its Rivals Critical Contrast

Stewart Information Services (NYSE:STC) is one of 311 publicly-traded companies in the “Insurance” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare Stewart Information Services to similar businesses based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Stewart Information Services and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stewart Information Services	3.58%	9.39%	4.77%
Stewart Information Services Competitors	9.09%	-9.90%	4.08%

Dividends

Stewart Information Services pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. Stewart Information Services pays out 55.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Insurance” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.8% and pay out 30.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Stewart Information Services has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.9% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of Stewart Information Services shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.6% of shares of all “Insurance” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Stewart Information Services has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Stewart Information Services’ competitors have a beta of -1.59, indicating that their average share price is 259% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Stewart Information Services and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stewart Information Services	$2.92 billion	$115.54 million	11.83
Stewart Information Services Competitors	$15.64 billion	$1.70 billion	35.23

Stewart Information Services’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Stewart Information Services. Stewart Information Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Stewart Information Services and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stewart Information Services	1	2	4	0	2.43
Stewart Information Services Competitors	3326	15646	16495	739	2.40

Stewart Information Services presently has a consensus target price of $75.75, suggesting a potential upside of 60.51%. As a group, “Insurance” companies have a potential upside of 2.73%. Given Stewart Information Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Stewart Information Services is more favorable than its competitors.

Summary

Stewart Information Services beats its competitors on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

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. It also provides appraisal management, online notarization and closing, credit and real estate information, and search and valuation services. The company serves homebuyers and sellers, residential and commercial real estate professionals, mortgage lenders and servicers, title agencies and real estate attorneys, and home builders through direct operations, network of independent agencies, and other businesses. The company was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.